Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients.
| Overall study population | Patients without musculoskeletal complications | Patients with musculoskeletal complications | p value (statistic test) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of subjects (%) | 163 | 79 (48.4%) | 84 (51.5%) | ns (Chi-squared) |
| Disease: stroke/severe brain injury | 120/43 | 58/21 | 62/22 | |
| Female/Male (n) | 70/93 | 26/53 | 44/40 | p = 0.0173 (Fisher) |
| Mean age (range; SD) | 71.3 (23–93; 13.5) | 73.9 (23–88; 11) | 69 (26–93; 15.2) | p = 0.032 (Mann–Whitney) |
| Days from acute event at admission | 25.5 | 23.7 | 27.4 | ns (Mann–Whitney) |
| Length of stay (range; SD) | 32.5(15–120; 19.7) | 30.4(15–120; 20.4) | 34.5(18–90; 19) | p = 0.0024 (Mann–Whitney) |
| Serum urate mg/dL [nv 2.6–7] (SD) | 4.5 (1.9) | 4.6 (1.9) | 4.5 (1.9) | ns (Mann–Whitney) |
| Alkaline phosphatase (nv values 40–129 mg/dL for female, 35–104 mg/dL for male) | 92.6 (39.6) | 96.6 (49) | 89 (29.1) | ns (Mann–Whitney) |
| Hemoglobine g/dL (nv 11.7–16 g/dL for females, 13.2–17.3 g/dL for males) | 12.4 (1.4) | 12.8 (1.3) | 12.1 (1.4) | p = 0.0204 (Mann–Whitney) |
| ESR mm/hour [nv 2–25] (SD) | 42.2 (27.2) | 33.4 (25) | 49.8 (27) | p = 0.0014 (Mann–Whitney) |
| CRP mg/dL[nv<0.5] (SD) | 3.3 (5.7) | 3 (5.3) | 3.6 (6) | ns (Mann–Whitney) |
| Type of recent stroke | ||||
| • Ischemic | 102 (85%) | 52 (50.9%) | 50 (49%) | ns (Fisher) |
| • Hemorrhagic | 18 (15%) | 6 (33.3%) | 12 (66.6%) | |
| Type of severe brain injury: | ||||
| • Traumatic head injury | 13 (30.2%) | 3 | 10 | p = 0.0452 (Fisher) |
| • Post-hypoxic encephalopathy | 8 (18.6%) | 4 | 4 | ns (Fisher) |
| • Subarachnoid hemorrage | 10 (23.2%) | 7 | 3 | ns (Fisher) |
| • Subdural hemorrage | 4 (2.3%) | 1 | 3 | ns (Fisher) |
| • Intracerebral hemorrage | 8 (18.6%) | 6 | 2 | ns (Fisher) |
| FIM (range; SD) | ||||
| • at admission | 39.9(18–89; 19.8) | 41.9(18–85; 20.8) | 38.1(18–89; 18.7) | ns (Mann-Whitney) |
| • at discharge | 54.6(18–101; 24) | 58.6(18–101; 25.9) | 50.9(18–95; 21.6) | p < 0.048 (Mann–Whitney) |
| Katz index (range; SD) | ||||
| • at admission | 19(10–65; 13.7) | 20.8(10–65; 14.9) | 17.4(10–55;12.5) | ns (Mann-Whitney) |
| • at discharge | 33.4(10–75; 19.7) | 37.6(10–35; 20.9) | 29.8(10–30; 17.9) | p < 0.0294 (Mann-Whitney) |
CRP, C-reactive protein. ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate. FIM, Functional Independence Measurement. ns, not significant. SD, Standard Deviation.