The purpose of this prospective study was to determine whether the cost and cost-effectiveness of early rehabilitation after stroke are associated with the degree of initial disability. The data for cost calculations were collected by the bottom-up (micro-costing) method alongside the standard inpatient care. The total sample included 87 patients who were transferred from acute care to early rehabilitation unit of three participating stroke centers at the median time poststroke of 11 days (range 4–69 days). The study was pragmatic so that all hospitals followed their standard therapeutic procedures. For each patient, the staff recorded each procedure and the associated time over the hospital stay. The cost and cost-effectiveness were compared between four disability categories. The average cost of the entire hospitalization was CZK 114 489 (EUR 4348) with the daily average of CZK 5103 (EUR 194). The cost was 2.4 times higher for the immobile category (CZK/EU: 167 530/6363) than the self-sufficient category (CZK/EUR: 68 825/2614), and the main driver of the increase was the cost of nursing. The motor status had a much greater influence than cognitive status. We conclude that the cost and cost-effectiveness of early rehabilitation after stroke are positively associated with the degree of the motor but not cognitive disability. To justify the cost of rehabilitation and monitor its effectiveness, it is recommended to systematically record the elements of care provided and perform functional assessments on admission and discharge.

Objectives: The paper analyses real-world data on cost of treatment in patients after stroke hospitalized in early rehabilitation units within comprehensive stroke centres in the Czech Republic. This is the first study of the kind in the Czech Republic, while such information is extremely rare worldwide. Stroke treatment witnessed a dramatic development in the last years, when the main progress was due to establishment of specialized (comprehensive) stroke units incorporating also early rehabilitation. There is a general agreement among clinicians that early rehabilitation is beneficial for patients after stroke.Methods: Costs of early rehabilitation after stroke were calculated by the micro-costing method alongside a pragmatic study in three Czech hospitals. Patients were transferred to specialized early rehabilitation units usually on 7th to 14th day after stroke onset and received four hours of interprofessional rehabilitation per day.Results: The analysis of data collected during the prospective observational research of 87 patients proved significant differences between patients. The average costs of hospitalization were determined to be CZK 5,104 (EUR 194) per one day of intensive rehabilitation in seriously affected patients early after stroke. These costs differed significantly between hospitals (p-value < 0.001); the structure of direct costs was quite stable, though. About 60% of these costs were due to nursing and overhead, while no more than 15% were consumed by therapists.Conclusions: The treatment of patients after stroke in specialized stroke units proved to be beneficial for the patients increasing the number of those re-integrated in family and community life.

Purpose Electrical stimulation-supported therapy is an often used modality. However, it still belongs to experimental methods in the human larynx. Data are lacking with which to evaluate the real effect in recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. The aim of this study was to investigate whether transcutaneous electrical stimulation added to voice therapy has a beneficial effect compared to voice therapy alone on vocal fold movement recovery in the case of an injured macroscopically intact recurrent laryngeal nerve. Methods Adults with unilateral vocal fold paralysis after thyroidectomy, in which the recurrent laryngeal nerve was left macroscopically intact, were included in this case-control study performed in tertiary referral hospital between September 2006 and June 2018. Among 175 eligible participants, 158 were included. Compliance with 6 months follow-up was 94.3%. Interventions: medicament therapy and voice therapy (group 1) vs. medicament therapy and voice therapy and transcutaneous electrical stimulation (group 2). Main outcome: vocal fold movement. Results A total of 149 patients were included in the analysis (group 1, 89 patients; group 2, 60 patients). The groups were homogenous. In groups 1 and 2, 64% and 60% of vocal folds, respectively, were improved after 6 months (P = 0.617). No difference was found between patients who improved and patients who did not improve. Conclusions Adding transcutaneous electrical stimulation to voice therapy provided no beneficial effect on the recovery of vocal fold movement. Therefore, its indications should be re-evaluated; it is questionable whether stimulation should be routinely recommended.

Quality of life and costs related to stroke survivors are important issues for the Czech healthcare system. Early rehabilitation after stroke has a great potential to improve patients' quality of life as well as to contribute to saving long-term societal costs. A tri-centre pragmatic longitudinal study was focused on the economic analysis of early rehabilitation after stroke in hospitals in the Czech Republic. The research also revealed dissimilarities in procedures between the involved hospitals. The number of patients included in the study was 87 (Prague -29, Ústí nad Labem -31, Ostrava -27). All of them were admitted to the early rehabilitation unit less than 70 days after stroke. Data were collected using the bottom-up method alongside the standard patient care. The inter-hospital differences manifested themselves mainly in the severity of the patients transferred from neurology to early rehabilitation wards, length of the hospitalization, average cost of the hospital stay, and to some degree also in the clinical outcomes (represented by the FIM scores). The analysis showed improvements in clinical outcomes in all groups and all hospitals. The differences in the costs of the hospitalization were caused predominantly by hospitalization length. The differences in the average one-day costs were caused only by particular hospitals' treatment procedures and operational processes.

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