For patients with acute ischemic stroke, early intensive rehabilitation therapy is recommended by the Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guidelines. This study of patients with acute stroke compared the functional gains of high-frequency, daily rehabilitation with traditional weekday treatment.

This retrospective study included patients with cerebral infarctions (CIs) or intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs), excluding subarachnoid hemorrhages. Given a policy change at the study hospital to increase the frequency of therapy to daily in October 2012, outcomes were compared between the periods before and after this change. The population included 661 patients with CI and 245 with ICH. The primary outcome measure was the Barthel index (BI), with effectiveness calculated as discharge BI minus admission BI divided by maximum BI minus admission BI.

Among the patients with CI, 166 received standard treatment and 149 received high-frequency intervention. Of those with ICH, 124 underwent standard treatment and 121 high-frequency intervention. A multiple linear regression analysis of factors impacting changes in BI effectiveness revealed that high-frequency therapy was correlated with better BI effectiveness scores in the CI group, but not in the ICH group.

This retrospective study suggests that, during rehabilitation after hemorrhagic stroke, daily therapy is superior to weekday-only therapy for improvements in function.