Abstract
To investigate the functional outcomes of medical rehabilitation for patients with brain tumor, we reviewed Functional Independence Measure (FIM) change and FIM efficiency of patients admitted to our facility from 1990 to 2004. We treated 45 patients with primary brain tumor during this period, and the data of 40 patients were collected from their medical records retrospectively. The data includes patient's demographic data, pathological classification of the brain tumor, length of stay (LOS), admission FIM score, discharge FIM score and their living situation after discharge. Numbers of the patients by tumor pathology were 14 gliomas, 12 meningiomas, 6 germ cell tumors, and 8 others. Total FIM scores at discharge were significantly increased in spite of the tumor pathology. Comparing the glioma group and meningioma group, no significant differences could be found in terms of LOS, admission FIM score, discharge FIM score and FIM efficiency except cognitive FIM score. Cognitive FIM scores for the glioma group were lower than the meningioma group either at admission or at discharge. Twenty-seven patients (67.5%) discharged to their home but 10 patients transferred to a neurosurgical hospital due to tumor recurrence. We concluded that early rehabilitative intervention was effective for patients with brain tumor to regain functional ability.
