Objective:

To evaluate the effects of transitional care interventions on rehospitalization, functional outcomes, quality of life, mortality, and disability in stroke survivors.

Approach:

Key Findings:

• Transitional care interventions reduced overall rehospitalization (RR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.40–0.88).
• More consistent effect on rehospitalization within 3 months post-discharge (RR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.29–0.82).
• Improved activities of daily living (ADL) (SMD = 0.43, 95% CI 0.20–0.67), but with substantial heterogeneity.
• Quality of life (QoL) improved overall (SMD = 0.67, 95% CI 0.37–0.96), particularly within 3 months (SMD = 0.74, 95% CI 0.54–0.94).
• No significant reduction in mortality (RR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.53–1.39).
• Lower short-term disability measured by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS; SMD = −0.59, 95% CI −0.99 to −0.19).

Interpretation:

Transitional care interventions may reduce short-term rehospitalization and improve short-term QoL in stroke survivors. They may also improve ADL and short-term disability, but findings should be interpreted cautiously due to heterogeneity and risk of bias.

Limitations:

• Substantial heterogeneity in ADL and disability outcomes.
• Moderate certainty of evidence for short-term rehospitalization and QoL; low for ADL, mortality, and disability.
• Potential small-study effects.

Conclusion:

Transitional care interventions may reduce short-term rehospitalization and improve short-term QoL in stroke survivors, but evidence regarding mortality benefit is unclear.

Attribution Notice

This content is an AI-generated, fully rewritten summary based on a published scholarly article. It does not reproduce the original text and is not a substitute for the original publication. Readers are encouraged to consult the source for full context, data, and methodology.