Effects of postacute multidisciplinary rehabilitation including exercise in out-of-hospital settings in the aged

Abstract<br/>Objective: Many older individuals receive rehabilitation in an out-of-hospital setting (OOHS) after acute hospitalization; however, its effect on<br/>mobility and unplanned hospital readmission is unclear. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted on this topic.<br/>Data Sources: Medline OVID, Embase OVID, and CINAHL were searched from their inception until February 22, 2018.<br/>Study Selection: OOHS (ie, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient clinics, or community-based at home) randomized trials studying the effect of<br/>multidisciplinary rehabilitation were selected, including those assessing exercise in older patients (mean age 65y) after discharge from hospital<br/>after an acute illness.<br/>Data Extraction: Two reviewers independently selected the studies, performed independent data extraction, and assessed the risk of bias.<br/>Outcomes were pooled using fixed- or random-effect models as appropriate. The main outcomes were mobility at and unplanned hospital<br/>readmission within 3 months of discharge.<br/>Data Synthesis: A total of 15 studies (1255 patients) were included in the systematic review and 12 were included in the meta-analysis (7<br/>assessing mobility using the 6-minute walk distance [6MWD] test and 7 assessing unplanned hospital readmission). Based on the 6MWD, patients<br/>receiving rehabilitation walked an average of 23 m more than controls (95% confidence interval [CI]Z: 1.34 to 48.32; I2: 51%). Rehabilitation<br/>did not lower the 3-month risk of unplanned hospital readmission (risk ratio: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.73-1.19; I2: 34%). The risk of bias was present,<br/>mainly due to the nonblinded outcome assessment in 3 studies, and 7 studies scored this unclearly.<br/>Conclusion: OOHS-based multidisciplinary rehabilitation leads to improved mobility in older patients 3 months after they are discharged from<br/>hospital following an acute illness and is not associated with a lower risk of unplanned hospital readmission within 3 months of discharge.<br/>However, the wide 95% CIs indicate that the evidence is not robust.