Analysis of rehabilitation in stroke patients in a High Dependency Unit.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the rehabilitation effict of stroke patients in the High Dependency Unit (HDU). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 96 ischemic stroke patients who met the inclusion criteria and were hospitalized in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of Qujing No. 1 Hospital by convenience sampling. All patients were divided into two groups according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria experimental group (n=49) and control group (n=47). The experimental group was admitted to the HDU and treated with the whole-process of full cycle rehabilitation management and treatment, and the control group was admitted to the general ward and treated with the conventional treatment model of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. RESULTS: The improvement of muscle strength at discharge was compared between the two groups. The results showed that the muscle strength effective rate was 85.7% in the experimental group and 55.3% in the control group, and the difference had statistical significance (P<0.01). The Barthel index score at admission and at discharge were compared between the two groups, the results showed that there was no significant difference in the Barthel index score at admission between the two groups (t=0.668, P>0.05). The Barthel index score at discharge in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group, and the difference had statistical significance (t=7.969, P<0.05). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score of the experimental group before treatment was (25.67±3.11) points, and the MoCA score after treatment was (29.01±2.21) points; the MoCA score of the control group before treatment was (24.11±4.65) points, and the MoCA score after treatment was (25.35±2.29) points. After implementation of the clinical nursing pathway, the improvement in cognitive function in the experimental group of patients was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the difference had statistical significance (P<0.01). Through the investigation of the satisfaction rate of nursing work in the two groups, it was found that the satisfaction rate in the experimental group was better than that in the control group, and the difference had statistical significance (P<0.05); there was 1 case of pressure sores that occurred in the experimental group, and 3 cases that occurred in the control group, χ2=1.133, P=0.287, and the difference had no statistical significance (P>0.05). The length of hospital stay was compared between the two groups, the results showed that the length of hospital stay was (11.76±2.06) days in the experimental group and (14.21±2.40) days in the control group, thus, the average length of hospital stay in the experimental group was less than that in the control group, and the difference had statistical significance (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The whole-process of full cycle rehabilitation management and treatment can improve the activities of daily living, limb muscle strength and cognitive function of patients, as well as shorten the length of hospital stay and improve the satisfaction of patients with treatment. Thus, it is worthy of being widely popularized in clinical application.