Abstract
A total of 118 patients who were hospitalized in the Kusatsu Branch Hospital of the Gunma University Hospital between 1993 and 1997 or after the startup of full-scale rehabilitation for internal impairment was compared with 113 patients who were hospitalized between 1985 and 1989 or before the beginning of rehabilitation for internal impairment with respect to diagnosis and length of stay (LOS). Patients who were hospitalized for rehabilitative purposes or for social reasons, came from other prefectures, were transferred to other hospitals, or who died, were excluded from this study. Among the cardiac diseases, the LOS (49.0±24.9 days) of patients who received rehabilitation was significantly shorter than that of patients who did not receive rehabilitation (77.0±35.2 days, p<0.001). Similar results were obtained for pulmonary diseases (47.8 ±26.5 days vs 76.1 ±24.3 days), diabetes mellitus (40.7± 15.7 days vs 66.9±36.5 days), rheumatoid arthritis (57.5±27.2 days vs 89.4±44.4 days), and spinal disease (42.5±20.0 days vs 72.0±37.8 days). In addition, a trend toward a decrease in LOS was observed in other diseases. This study demonstrated that rehabilitation shortened the LOS in patients with various diseases with internal impairment.
