Efforts and effects of additional medical coverage to maintain or improve activities of daily living in an acute cardiovascular internal medicine ward

Kono Y, Aoyagi Y, Kayukawa T, Mori E, Ishikawa A, Yatsuya K, Mizokoshi E, Izawa H, Saitoh E. Efforts and effects of additional medical coverage to maintain or improve activities of daily living in an acute cardiovascular internal medicine ward. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2017; 8; 104-108.Purpose: This study investigated the effects of additional medical coverage to maintain or improve ADLs on the length of hospital stay and level of ADLs.Methods: This retrospective study included patients who were admitted to the cardiovascular internal medicine ward and were referred to the rehabilitation (rehab) department. Patients who were referred to the rehab department within one year after the implementation of additional medical coverage to maintain or improve ADLs were categorized as the added-coverage ADLs group, and those who were referred to the rehab department within one year before the implementation were categorized as the control group. The evaluation items included age, number of days before initiation of rehab, duration of rehab intervention, length of hospital stay, and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score at discharge.Results: While the added-coverage ADLs group had 147 patients (women, 101; mean age, 82 ± 10 years), the control group had 102 patients (women, 54; mean age, 82±10 years). In the added-coverage ADLs group, we found a significant decline in the number of days before initiation of rehab, duration of rehab intervention, and length of hospital stay; however, we found no difference in the FIM score at discharge between the two groups.Conclusions: The implementation of additional medical coverage to maintain or improve ADLs allowed early initiation of rehab intervention and decreased the duration of rehab intervention and the length of hospital stay while maintaining the level of ADLs at discharge.