ArticleBMJ neurology open2026
Functional recovery trajectories in post-acute stroke care: rethinking the length of stay.
Article in BMJ neurology open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Post-acute care (PAC) restores function after stroke, but the optimal length of stay (LOS) is undefined, particularly in high-intensity rehabilitation settings, causing practice variation and resource-allocation challenges. Objective: To examine the association between PAC LOS and functional outcomes after stroke using propensity score-based adjustment for baseline functional severity and to characterise recovery trajectories across rehabilitation durations. Methods: In a retrospective cohort of patients enrolled in Taiwan's PAC stroke programme (January 2018-December 2023), functional outcomes were assessed using the modified Rankin scale (mRS) and Barthel Index (BI). Associations between prolonged LOS (>6 weeks) and outcomes were examined using multivariable logistic regression and an inverse probability of treatment weighting model incorporating baseline functional status into the propensity score. Exploratory analyses evaluated weekly LOS cut-offs and stroke subtypes. Results: Among 610 patients, prolonged PAC LOS was associated with higher odds of mRS improvement (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.57), lower odds of mRS non-improvement (0.57, 0.39 to 0.84) and lower odds of discharge BI≤60 (0.37, 0.25 to 0.55). Lower odds of BI non-improvement were also observed but rested on very few events (penalised-likelihood (Firth) estimation) and warrant caution. The decline in mRS non-improvement continued with longer LOS and differed by subtype, persisting beyond 6 weeks in ischaemic stroke. Conclusions: After adjustment for baseline functional status, prolonged PAC LOS remained associated with more favourable outcomes, but this should not be interpreted as evidence that longer rehabilitation independently causes better recovery. LOS appears to reflect individual recovery trajectories, whose timing differed by stroke subtype. These findings argue against a single uniform duration threshold and support individualised, subtype-aware reassessment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.