Cerebral aneurysms: Analysis of rehabilitation outcomes

Objective: To classify deficits after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and correlate rehabilitation outcomes with these findings. Design: A retrospective review of medical records. Setting: Institution-based rehabilitation hospital. Participants: Eighty patients admitted to a rehabilitation facility after aneurysmal SAH. Main Outcome Measures: For each subject, data were collected for time between surgery and admission, total inpatient days, time orientation at discharge, and level of supervision required at discharge. Results: Fifty-five percent of the subjects were women and 45% were men. The average age was 47 years. Sixty percent of the lesions were right-sided and 40% were left-sided. Aneurysms were localized, in decreasing order of frequency, in the anterior communicating artery, middle cerebral artery, posterior communicating artery, internal carotid artery, basilar artery, anterior cerebral artery, and posterior inferior cerebellar artery distribution. Conclusion: Longer rehabilitation stays were associated with right-sided lesions (mean = 44.64 versus 33.93 days) and motor impairment (mean = 43.8 versus 31.53 days). A trend suggested that motor impairment also predicted the level of supervision required at discharge. The shorter the time between surgery and admission to rehabilitation, the more likely the patient will be oriented at the time of discharge (29.47 versus 43.29 days).