Impact of Early Rehabilitation on Outcomes in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke After Endovascular Treatment

Background: This study aims to examine the effects of early rehabilitation on functional outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with endovascular treatment (EVT). Methods: Eligible patients with large vessel occlusion stroke treated with EVT, who received early rehabilitation or standard care treatment during hospitalization, were enrolled in a multicenter registration, prospective observational study, a registration study for Critical Care of Acute Ischemic Stroke After Recanalization. Early rehabilitation was defined as rehabilitation interventions initiated within 1 week after acute stroke. The primary outcome was the favorable functional outcome (defined as modified Rankin Scale scores of 0 to 2) at 90 days. Independent association between early rehabilitation and the primary outcome was investigated using multivariable logistic regression in the entire sample and in subgroups. Results: A total of 1,126 patients (enrolled from July 2018 to May 2019) were included in the analyses, 273 (24.2%) in the early rehabilitation group and 853 (75.8%) in the standard care group. There was no significant difference in favorable functional outcomes at 90 days between the two groups (45.4 vs. 42.6%, p = 0.41). Patients in the early rehabilitation group had a lower death rate within 90 days compared with the standard care group (6.2 vs. 20.5%, p < 0.01). The multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that the early rehabilitation was not significantly associated with the favorable functional outcome at 90 days (adjusted odds ratio, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.70-1.47]; p = 0.95). There was no significant difference between subgroups in the favorable functional outcome at 90 days. No significant interaction was found between subgroups. Conclusions: Patients with stroke receiving early rehabilitation had a lower death rate. However, these clinically meaningful effects of early rehabilitation did not show on functional outcome at 90 days in patients with large vessel occlusion stroke treated with EVT.