Prediction of Discharge Destination After Stroke Using the Motor Assessment Scale on Admission: A Prospective, Multisite Study

Brauer SG, Bew PG, Kuys SS, Lynch MR, Morrison G. Prediction of discharge destination after stroke using the Motor Assessment Scale on admission: a prospective, multisite study.ObjectiveTo determine if admission functional status, measured with the Motor Assessment Scale (MAS), was predictive of discharge destination to home or residential aged care in patients with stroke undergoing rehabilitation.DesignCohort study.SettingInpatient rehabilitation units.ParticipantsAdults (N=566) diagnosed with stroke undergoing inpatient physiotherapy at one of 15 units in Australia.InterventionMultidisciplinary rehabilitation.Main Outcome MeasureDischarge home versus residential aged care.ResultsPrestroke residential status, gait ability measured with the MAS (MAS-5), rolling ability (MAS-1), and age were able to correctly predict 99% of patients with stroke discharged home and 33.3% discharged to residential aged care facilities, producing an accuracy of 87.3%. Odds ratios indicate that for every 1-point increase in MAS-5 (gait), subjects were 1.66 times more likely to go home (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28–2.27; P<.001). Similarly, for every 1-point increase in MAS-1 (rolling), subjects were 1.28 times more likely to go home (95% CI, 1.11–1.49; P<.01).ConclusionsTwo items of the MAS assessed on admission to rehabilitation—gait and rolling—in conjunction with basic demographic information of age and prestroke residential status, were highly predictive of discharge from rehabilitation to home.