Makoto Tokunaga, MD, PhD, Susumu Watanabe, MD, PhD, Ryoji Nakanishi, MD, PhD,
Hiroaki Yamanaga, MD, PhD, Makoto Kawasaki, MD, Yoshifumi Hirata, MD, PhD,
Makio Yamaga, MD, PhD, Tadashi Terasaki, MD, Yoichiro Hashimoto, MD,
Shigeru Sonoda, MD, PhD
Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 3: 26-31, 2012
Objective: To clarify the mean length of stay (LOS)
and rate of discharge to home adjusted for severity
[total Nichijo-seikatsu-hyokahyo (NSKH; English
translation: Functional Assessment of Daily Living
Table) score] in rehabilitation hospitals participating
in Kumamoto Stroke Liaison Critical Pathway.
Methods: A total of 762 stroke patients were studied.
The overall severity distribution in all the hospitals
was used as the standard severity distribution. The
severity distribution in each rehabilitation hospital
was adjusted to match the standard severity distribution.
Under this condition, the mean LOS and rate of
discharge to home in each hospital were calculated.
Results: The adjusted rate of discharge to home tended
to increase in a nearly linear manner with prolongation
of the adjusted mean LOS. However, even in hospitals
with adjusted mean LOS longer than 90 days, the
adjusted rate of discharge to home remained around
0.7.
Conclusion: No rehabilitation hospitals in Kumamoto
Prefecture achieved a short LOS and high rate of
discharge to home. To avoid reduction of the rate of
discharge to home, an adjusted mean LOS longer than
90 days is probably necessary.
Key words: length of stay, discharge to home, community liaison critical pathway, severity, stroke