Clinical management provided by board-certificated physiatrists in early rehabilitation is a significant determinant of functional improvement in acute stroke patients: a retrospective analysis of Japan rehabilitation database.

Background: Early rehabilitation for acute stroke patients is widely recommended. We tested the hypothesis that clinical outcome of stroke patients who receive early rehabilitation managed by board-certificated physiatrists (BCP) is generally better than that provided by other medical specialties.

Methods: Data of stroke patients who underwent early rehabilitation in 19 acute hospitals between January 2005 and December 2013 were collected from the Japan Rehabilitation Database and analyzed retrospectively. Multivariate linear regression analysis using generalized estimating equations method was performed to assess the association between Functional Independence Measure (FIM) effectiveness and management provided by BCP in early rehabilitation. In addition, multivariate logistic regression analysis was also performed to assess the impact of management provided by BCP in acute phase on discharge destination.

Results: After setting the inclusion criteria, data of 3838 stroke patients were eligible for analysis. BCP provided early rehabilitation in 814 patients (21.2%). Both the duration of daily exercise time and the frequency of regular conferencing were significantly higher for patients managed by BCP than by other specialties. Although the mortality rate was not different, multivariate regression analysis showed that FIM effectiveness correlated significantly and positively with the management provided by BCP (coefficient, .35; 95% confidence interval [CI], .012-.059; P < .005). In addition, multivariate logistic analysis identified clinical management by BCP as a significant determinant of home discharge (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.08-1.44; P < .005).

Conclusions: Our retrospective cohort study demonstrated that clinical management provided by BCP in early rehabilitation can lead to functional recovery of acute stroke.