The effect of HIV on functional outcome in stroke patients admitted to a rehabilitation hospital

Introduction/Background Recent studies have concluded that HIV patients live with an increased risk of stroke. Our study investigated the association between HIV and the functional progress of patients admitted for rehabilitation after suffering a stroke. Material and method This retrospective chart review included data from patients admitted to rehabilitation hospitals after suffering a stroke from 2002–2017. The data included demographic information as well as functional independence scores and length of stay. Results During the 15-year timeframe, 688,006 patients were admitted to rehabilitation hospitals after suffering a stroke. FIM efficiency and LOS did not significantly differ between the HIV and non-HIV patients. The data indicated that FIM efficiency was slightly higher for HIV patients (1.78 vs. 1.75). On average, HIV patients had a 1-day difference in LOS (17 days vs. 16 days). Conclusion Despite being a risk factor, HIV status does not appear to significantly affect functional improvement or LOS for patients suffering after a stroke.