Comparison of Rehabilitation Outcomes for Long Term Neurological Conditions: A Cohort Analysis of the Australian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre Dataset for Adults of Working Age

OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare outcomes from in-patient rehabilitation (IPR) in working-aged adults across different groups of long-term neurological conditions, as defined by the UK National Service Framework. DESIGN: Analysis of a large Australian prospectively collected dataset for completed IPR episodes (n = 28,596) from 2003-2012. METHODS: De-identified data for adults (16-65 years) with specified neurological impairment codes were extracted, cleaned and divided into 'Sudden-onset' conditions: (Stroke (n = 12527), brain injury (n = 7565), spinal cord injury (SCI) (n = 3753), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) (n = 805)) and 'Progressive/stable' conditions (Progressive (n = 3750) and Cerebral palsy (n = 196)). Key outcomes included Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores, length of stay (LOS), and discharge destination. RESULTS: Mean LOS ranged from 21-57 days with significant group differences in gender, source of admission and discharge destination. All six groups showed significant change (p<0.001) between admission and discharge that was likely to be clinically important across a range of items. Significant between-group differences were observed for FIM Motor and Cognitive change scores (Kruskal-Wallis p