• Stephanie Covert, Joshua K Johnson, Mary Stilphen, Sandra Passek, Nicolas R Thompson, and Irene Katzan.
• Rehabilitation and Sports Therapy, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195 (USA).
• Phys Ther. 2020 Aug 31; 100 (9): 1423-1433.

ObjectiveTherapists in the hospital are charged with making timely discharge recommendations to improve access to rehabilitation after stroke. The objective of this study was to identify the predictive ability of the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care "6 Clicks" Basic Mobility Inpatient Short Form (6 Clicks mobility) score and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score for actual hospital discharge disposition after stroke.MethodsIn this retrospective cohort study, data were collected from an academic hospital in the United States for 1543 patients with acute stroke and a 6 Clicks mobility score. Discharge to home, a skilled nursing facility (SNF), or an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) was the primary outcome. Associations among these outcomes and 6 Clicks mobility and NIHSS scores, alone or together, were tested using multinomial logistic regression, and the predictive ability of these scores was calculated using concordance statistics.ResultsA higher 6 Clicks mobility score alone was associated with a decreased odds of actual discharge to an IRF or an SNF. The 6 Clicks mobility score alone was a strong predictor of discharge to home versus an IRF or an SNF. However, predicting discharge to an IRF versus an SNF was stronger when the 6 Clicks mobility score was considered in combination with the NIHSS score, age, sex, and race.ConclusionThe 6 Clicks mobility score alone can guide discharge decision making after stroke, particularly for discharge to home versus an SNF or an IRF. Determining discharge to an SNF versus an IRF could be improved by also considering the NIHSS score, age, sex, and race. Future studies should seek to identify which additional characteristics improve predictability for these separate discharge destinations.ImpactThe use of outcome measures can improve therapist confidence in making discharge recommendations for people with stroke, can enhance hospital throughput, and can expedite access to rehabilitation, ultimately affecting functional outcomes.© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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