Functional outcomes and efficiency of rehabilitation in a national cohort of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies.

Abstract

ObjectivesTo describe functional outcomes, care needs and cost-efficiency of hospital rehabilitation for a UK cohort of inpatients with complex rehabilitation needs arising from inflammatory polyneuropathies.Subjects and setting186 patients consecutively admitted to specialist neurorehabilitation centres in England with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (n = 118 (63.4%)) or other inflammatory polyneuropathies, including chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (n = 15 (8.1%) or critical illness neuropathy (n = 32 (17.2%)).MethodsCohort analysis of data from the UK Rehabilitation Outcomes Collaborative national clinical dataset. Outcome measures include the UK Functional Assessment Measure, Northwick Park Dependency Score (NPDS) and Care Needs Assessment (NPCNA). Patients were analysed in three groups of dependency based on their admission NPDS score: 'low' (NPDSResultsThe mean rehabilitation length of stay was 72.2 (sd = 66.6) days. Significant differences were seen between the diagnostic groups on admission, but all showed significant improvements between admission and discharge, in both motor and cognitive function (pConclusionsPatients with polyneuropathies have both physical and cognitive disabilities that are amenable to change with rehabilitation, resulting in significant reduction in on-going care-costs, especially for highly dependent patients.