THE MOBILITY SCALE FOR ACUTE STROKE PREDICTS DISCHARGE DESTINATION AFTER ACUTE HOSPITALIZATION

Objective: To evaluate the predictive validity of the Mobility Scale for Acute Stroke (MSAS) in determining discharge destination (home or not home) after an acute stroke. Design: Cohort study. Subjects: Two-hundred and twenty-three patients with acute ischemic or intraparenchymal hemorrhagic, unilateral stroke Methods: The MSAS was administered as part of the initial physical therapy examination. The Receiver Operating Characteristic determined the optimal MSAS cutoff score associated with discharge home. A multiple logistic regression equation with discharge destination as the criterion variable (home or not home) was conducted with age, length of stay and optimal MSAS cutoff score as covariates. Results: Subjects were discharged home 35.9% (n=80) and not home 64.1% (n=143) of the time. Mean age was 68.5 years (standard deviation 1.8). The ROC determined 26 to be the optimal cutoff score for the MSAS. Results of the multiple logistic regression equation indicated that controlling for age and length of stay, only the MSAS cutoff score of 26 reliably predicted discharge to home with an adjusted odds ratio of 57.79 with a 95% confidence interval of 20.09-166.21. Conclusion: The MSAS may be useful for predicting discharge destination from the acute hospital after stroke.