Functional Impairment and Postacute Care Discharge Setting May Be Useful for Stroke Survival Prognostication

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to discussions about post-stroke outcomes related to post-stroke function and post-acute care discharge setting.inform patient-provider. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries with acute ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage in 2013. Our primary outcome was mortality within at least 1-year post discharge. We performed multivariate logistic regression to estimate 90-day odds ratios (ORs) and Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate post 90-day hazard ratios on mortality, adjusting for demographics, procedures, comorbidities, discharge setting (inpatient rehabilitation facility, skilled nursing facility, or home health care agency), post-stroke function (measured by the Functional/Pseudo-Functional Independence Measure) and setting-function interactions. There were 167 000 patients with a mean follow-up of 441 days. Mortality within 90 days was associated with post-stroke function (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.19–0.27 comparing highest to lowest quintile of post-stroke function) and discharge setting (OR, 4.05; 95% CI, 3.78–4.33 for skilled nursing facility versus inpatient rehabilitation facility). Among the highest functioning patients, those discharged to inpatient rehabilitation facility had a 1-year mortality of 9% and those discharged with home health had 11% mortality at 1 year. The lowest functioning survivors of stroke discharged to a skilled nursing facility had 64% mortality at 1 year and those discharged to an inpatient rehabilitation facility had 29.6% mortality at 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly two thirds of the lowest functioning survivors of stroke discharged to a skilled nursing facility die within a year. This finding should inform discussions between providers and patients/caregivers in aligning goals of care with the care survivors of stroke receive.