Who makes the most progress in inpatient rehabilitation? An analysis of functional gain.

This study describes the functional gain made by 6,194 inpatients in 22 rehabilitation facilities in 1985 and 1986. Functional gain was measured by the Revised Level of Rehabilitation Scale (LORS-II). Results showed that age, length of stay, and functional ability at admission were all factors in patient progress, but not always in the way expected. Younger patients and those with a longer length of stay generally made more progress, but there were variations by impairment group. A curvilinear relationship between functional status at admission and functional gain was observed for several impairment groups. Head injury patients made the most functional gains. However, orthopedic patients made the most gains of all impairment groups when length of stay, age, functional ability at admission, and consistency of progress were considered.