Researchers conducted a study with a goal of examining racial differences in access to rehabilitation consultation and discharge to an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) among patients in an acute care setting following an amputation.
The study included 640 participants more than 18 years of age who had undergone an amputation at an academic hospital between January 2020 and March 2023. The study did not include women who were pregnant, those who were incarcerated, or those who identified as Native Hawaiian primarily due to their low numbers. Those who had undergone solely phalangeal amputations were also excluded. The study’s primary outcomes were the discharge destination after the acute care hospital and the acute care length of stay.
The researchers found a statistically significant association between age and discharge disposition, with a 2 percent increase in the likelihood of discharge to an IRF for each additional year. The length of stay between different racial and ethnic groups showed statistically significant differences, with Asian patients having the longest (23.3 days) and those identifying as two or more races having the shortest (11.9 days) stays. When comparing between white, Black, and Hispanic patients, Black patients had the longest length of stay (19.9 days), the study found. Lastly, patients who received physiatry consultation were 20 times more likely to be discharged to an IRF.
In summary, patients from underrepresented minority groups had a longer acute care length of stay. Race and ethnicity did not appear to affect the amputation level or discharge disposition, including discharge to acute inpatient rehabilitation, according to the researchers. Age and the presence of physiatric consultation had the greatest impact on determining the discharge disposition of patients with amputations, the study found.
The open-access study, “Racial disparities in patients with amputation in an acute care setting in the immediate postoperative period” was published in PM&R.
