Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics and In-Hospital Outcomes According to Pre-Admission Polypharmacy Status.
| Variable | Overall (n = 303) | Non-polypharmacy (n = 133) | Polypharmacy (n = 170) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 77 [66-85] | 70 [58-79] | 81 [73-87] | <0.001 |
| Sex, male, n (%) | 161 (53.1) | 72 (54.1) | 89 (52.4) | 0.847 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 22.0 [19.4-24.9] | 22.5 [19.9-25.4] | 21.8 [19.2-24.4] | 0.136 |
| Charlson comorbidity index | 1 [0-2] | 0 [0-1] | 2 [1-3] | <0.001 |
| Stroke type, n (%) | 0.030 | |||
| Ischemic stroke | 227 (74.9) | 91 (68.4) | 136 (80.0) | |
| Hemorrhagic stroke | 76 (25.1) | 42 (31.6) | 34 (20.0) | |
| Pre-stroke mRS, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| 0 | 182 (60.1) | 103 (77.4) | 79 (46.5) | |
| 1 | 31 (10.2) | 7 (5.3) | 23 (13.5) | |
| 2 | 32 (10.6) | 9 (6.8) | 23 (13.5) | |
| 3 | 35 (11.6) | 11 (8.3) | 24 (14.1) | |
| 4 | 24 (7.9) | 3 (2.3) | 21 (12.4) | |
| NIHSS at admission | 5 [2-14] | 4 [2-14] | 5 [2-14] | 0.576 |
| Serum albumin at admission, g/dL | 4.0 [3.6-4.3] | 4.1 [3.8-4.4] | 3.9 [3.5-4.3] | 0.006 |
| Thrombolysis, n (%) | 24 (7.9) | 12 (9.0) | 12 (7.1) | 0.679 |
| Mechanical thrombectomy, n (%) | 19 (6.3) | 9 (6.8) | 10 (5.9) | 0.939 |
| Hematoma evacuation, n (%) | 2 (0.7) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.2) | 0.506 |
| FIM at admission | ||||
| Motor | 33 [13-56] | 39 [17-58] | 32 [13-53] | 0.051 |
| Cognitive | 27 [13-33] | 29 [15-34] | 25 [12-33] | 0.061 |
| Total | 58 [32-87] | 68 [34-91] | 56 [29-82] | 0.048 |
| mRS at discharge, n (%) | 0.170 | |||
| 0 | 47 (15.5) | 27 (20.3) | 20 (11.8) | |
| 1 | 52 (17.2) | 26 (19.5) | 26 (15.3) | |
| 2 | 41 (13.5) | 19 (14.3) | 22 (12.9) | |
| 3 | 49 (16.2) | 18 (13.5) | 31 (18.2) | |
| 4 | 69 (22.8) | 28 (21.1) | 41 (24.1) | |
| 5 | 45 (14.9) | 15 (11.3) | 30 (17.6) | |
| NIHSS at discharge | 2 [0-6] | 2 [0-4] | 2 [0-8] | 0.092 |
| FIM at discharge | ||||
| Motor | 67 [30-86] | 76 [42-90] | 58 [22-80] | <0.001 |
| Cognitive | 30 [16-35] | 32 [21-35] | 27 [14-34] | 0.010 |
| Total | 94 [51-120] | 107 [67-124] | 80 [39-113] | <0.001 |
| FIM gain | 22 [8-35] | 27 [16-37] | 18 [4-32] | <0.001 |
| Length of hospital stay, days | 19 [13-36] | 18 [12-29] | 20 [14-41] | 0.007 |
| Discharge destination | 0.084 | |||
| Home, n (%) | 151 (49.8) | 72 (54.1) | 79 (46.5) | |
| Rehabilitation hospital, n (%) | 104 (34.3) | 48 (36.1) | 56 (32.9) | |
| Long-term care hospital, n (%) | 35 (11.6) | 10 (7.5) | 25 (14.7) | |
| Others, n (%) | 13 (4.3) | 3 (2.3) | 10 (5.9) |
Continuous variables are presented as medians [interquartile range], and categorical variables are presented as numbers (%). p Values were calculated using the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate, for categorical variables. FIM gain was defined as discharge total FIM score minus admission total FIM score. Pre-admission polypharmacy was defined as the use of five or more regular pre-admission medications.
BMI: body mass index; FIM: Functional Independence Measure; mRS: modified Rankin Scale; NIHSS: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.