Session Information
Date: Thursday, November 14, 2019
Session Title: General Rehabilitation Research Report & Practice Management and Leadership Case Report
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Location: Research Hub - Kiosk 2
Disclosures: Eric Villanueva: Nothing to disclose
Objective: To test the hypothesis that patients experiencing a traumatic injury with workers’ compensation claims report less improvement in pain and functional recovery after acute rehabilitation.
Design: A retrospective chart review.
Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation unit.
Participants: 147 patients age 19-80 with traumatic injuries admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation unit from a Level I Trauma Center from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018, of whom 17 had workers’ compensation claims.
Interventions: Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures: Demographics, including sex, age, workers’ compensation status, BMI, race/ethnicity, and marital status as well as pain scores (Numeric Rating Scale 0-10) at admission and discharge, length of stay in acute rehabilitation, destination after discharge (home or skilled nursing facility), change in FIM scores from admission to discharge, and FIM efficiency.
Results: Worker’s compensation was significantly associated with younger age (39 years vs. 56 years; P = .008) and male gender (88.2% vs. 63.9%; P = .045); these patients had a higher FIM score at admission (80 vs. 66; P < .001) and discharge (101 vs. 96; P = .006), however, the difference in FIM score between these two time points (21 vs. 28; P = .051) and FIM efficiency (2.6 vs. 2.4; P = .444) were not significantly associated with compensated status. Pain at discharge was increased for compensated patients (5 vs. 2; P = .028), and time in acute rehabilitation was decreased (10 days vs. 12 days; P = .020). Destination after discharge and pain scores at admission were similar for the compensated and non-compensated patients.
Conclusions: During acute rehabilitation for traumatic injuries, workers’ compensation claims may be associated with higher levels of self-reported pain at rehabilitation discharge; however, FIM efficiency, destination after discharge, and difference in FIM between admission and discharge are similar for compensated and non-compensated patients.
Level of Evidence: Level III
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Villanueva E, Iliescu DA, Syed M, Woodworth T, Dovgan J, Aurit SJ, Sandin KJ. Pain and Functional Improvement in Workers’ Compensation Patients After Traumatic Injury in Acute Rehabilitation [abstract]. PM R. 2019; 11(S2)(suppl 2). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/pain-and-functional-improvement-in-workers-compensation-patients-after-traumatic-injury-in-acute-rehabilitation/. Accessed May 17, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2019
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/pain-and-functional-improvement-in-workers-compensation-patients-after-traumatic-injury-in-acute-rehabilitation/