Poststroke Fatigue at Admission is Associated With Independence Levels of Activities of Daily Living at Discharge From Subacute Rehabilitation Wards

Objective: To determine whether poststroke fatigue at admission is associated with the degree of independence in activities of daily living in patients with stroke at discharge from subacute rehabilitation wards. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Subacute rehabilitation hospital. Participants: A consecutive sample of patients (N=156) with stroke who were admitted to a subacute rehabilitation ward between December 2012 and November 2013 were enrolled in the study. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Poststroke fatigue was assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale within 2 weeks of admission. Poststroke fatigue was defined as the mean score of 4 points or more from among 9 items in the Fatigue Severity Scale. Functional outcome was assessed by using FIM motor items. Results: Fifty-six (35.9%) of the 156 participants had poststroke fatigue at admission. The scores of the FIM motor items at admission and discharge were significantly lower in the fatigue group than in the nonfatigue group (P<.05). Multiple regression analysis with potentially confounding variables revealed that poststroke fatigue was a significant independent factor for discharge FIM motor items score (P<.05). Conclusion: Poststroke fatigue at admission was significantly associated with functional outcome at discharge from subacute rehabilitation wards. Our findings emphasize that rehabilitation professionals need to manage poststroke fatigue in addition to providing the interventions to improve daily activities in patients with subacute stroke.