Effect of inpatient rehabilitation on self-care and functional activities in acute ischemic stroke patients who underwent thrombectomy.

Abstract

Background: The benefits of rehabilitation in acute ischemic stroke patients following thrombectomy remain underexplored. We assessed which activities of daily living (ADLs) show the greatest improvement after goal-directed therapy in an inpatient rehabilitation setting.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pre- and post-rehabilitation functional assessments in 40 acute ischemic stroke patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy. All patients received goal-directed therapy at a rehabilitation facility. Activities were grouped into two domains: (1) self-care (eating, oral hygiene, toileting hygiene, showering/bathing, dressing) and (2) functional mobility (footwear management, rolling, sit-to-lying, lying-to-sitting, sit-to-stand). Mean percent changes were calculated for each activity.

Results: Patients had a mean rehabilitation stay of 18 ± 9 days. In the self-care domain, the greatest relative improvements were observed in showering/bathing (44% ± 17%), upper body dressing (39% ± 19%), and toileting hygiene (39% ± 29%). In the mobility domain, the sit-to-lying activity showed the highest improvement (44% ± 20%). All measured activities demonstrated functional gains post-rehabilitation.

Conclusions: Goal-directed inpatient rehabilitation was associated with substantial improvements in both self-care and functional mobility following thrombectomy. The most notable gains were in showering/bathing and sit-to-lying transitions. These findings demonstrate that structured inpatient rehabilitation is associated with measurable improvements in functional recovery in stroke patients post-thrombectomy.