Session Information
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2019
Session Title: General Rehabilitation Case & Research Report
Session Time: 11:15am-12:45pm
Location: Research Hub - Kiosk 1
Disclosures: Sami Ullah, FCPS (PM&R): Nothing to disclose
Objective: The aim of this study was to document the common pediatric rehabilitation diagnoses, which can help to identify the need and development of rehabilitation services for pediatric population with disability in the country.
Design Retrospective study (January 2011 till September 2018) conducted using medical charts (electronic and paper). All pediatric patients admitted to the inpatient pediatric rehabilitation (IPR) unit since it was established were included in study.
Setting: Rehabilitation Hospital, King Fahad Medical City Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Participants: 380 pediatric rehabilitation patients
Interventions: N/A
Main Outcome Measures: Common pediatric rehabilitation diagnoses, mean length of stay, co-morbidities.
Results: 380 patients were admitted to IPR unit with 147 females (38.71%) and 233 males (61.3%). Mean age was 9.1 ± 4.1SD years. 69% of patients were less than 12 years of age. 118 (31.1%) patients were from Riyadh and 262 (68.9%) patients from outside Riyadh. Most patients had acquired brain injury (38.4%) (146 patients out of 380), out of which 76 (37.63%) were traumatic brain injury and 20 (13.98%) were brain tumors with astrocytoma as the most common tumor. 139 (36.6%) were cerebral palsy patients. 72 (18.9%) out of 380 were spinal cord injury patients. Mean time to inpatient rehabilitation was 264 days. Mean length of stay (LOS) was 46.2 ± 32.5 SD days. Significant co-relation was observed between LOS and age (P = .028), gender (P = .049) and co-morbidities. (P = .045)
Conclusions: Acquired brain injury was the most common cause of disability in patients undergoing an inpatient rehabilitation program, with trauma being the most common etiology. Given the long-term rehabilitation needs of pediatric patients with traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy, there is a dire need of development of strategies for prevention of these ailments, and development of comprehensive rehabilitation programs across the country.
Level of Evidence: Level III
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Ullah S, Tantawy S, Wunderlich CA. Pediatric Rehabilitation in Saudi Arabia: Experience from the Only Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit of Ministry of Health in the Country [abstract]. PM R. 2019; 11(S2)(suppl 2). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/pediatric-rehabilitation-in-saudi-arabia-experience-from-the-only-pediatric-rehabilitation-unit-of-ministry-of-health-in-the-country/. Accessed May 12, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2019
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/pediatric-rehabilitation-in-saudi-arabia-experience-from-the-only-pediatric-rehabilitation-unit-of-ministry-of-health-in-the-country/