Comparison Between Men And Women Admitted To An Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit After Cardiac Surgery

Objective: To determine whether there are differences in several factors between men and women who undergo inpatient post-cardiac surgery rehabilitation.Design: A retrospective chart review. Information wets collected on a variety of factors: age; previous myocardial infarction; number of days from surgery to admission to rehabilitation; postsurgery, prerehabilitation complications; length of stay on the rehabilitation unit; living arrangements before surgery; disposition; and postdischarge recommendations.Setting: Community hospital rehabilitation unit associated with a university hospital.Patients: One hundred thirty-eight patients (54 men, 84 women) admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation unit after cardiac surgery.Results: There was a significant relationship between sex and preadmission living arrangements; 56% of women lived alone versus 26% of men (p <.01). There was a statistically significant difference in length of stay on the rehabilitation unit (p <.02). Men stayed longer, with a median stay of 16 days (95% confidence interval, 15 to 20) versus 15 days for women (95% confidence interval, 14 to 15). Ninety-three percent of men were discharged from rehabilitation at 30 days versus 98% of women. No relationship was noted between men and women in age, previous myocardial infarction, number of days from surgery to rehabilitation admission, length of stay on the rehabilitation unit, postsurgery-prerehabilitation complications, complications on the rehabilitation unit, presurgery Living arrangements, disposition, and postdischarge therapy recommendations.Conclusion: Men and women showed comparable courses after cardiac surgery. Before surgery, women lived alone more frequently than men. (C) 1999 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.