Functional Outcome, Rehabilitation Use and Length of Hospital Stay for Stroke Patients in South Madrid

Background: Health status and use of resources by stroke patients in Spain are unknown. Methods: A total of 103 acute stroke patients resident in south Madrid, population 665,168, were seen in 1996 at a general hospital and three primary care centres and evaluated at 5–10 days, 3 and 6 months after stroke. Health outcomes and patterns of rehabilitation and hospital use by patient groups were studied using multivariate logistic regression. Results: The group receiving rehabilitation exhibited higher levels of impairment, disability and handicap at each time point, these differences decreasing with time, except in the distribution of walking ability which was unimodal in that group. Younger age, poor walking ability and motor capacity, pain on the paretic side and living with a spouse predicted use of rehabilitation; low level of education predicted a long hospital stay. Conclusion: Rehabilitation for stroke in south Madrid was sparse and used mainly by young, severely affected patients.