GALVESTON, Texas, Oct 12, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Texas researchers studying the decrease in the amount of time patients are hospitalized for medical rehabilitation found a rising mortality rate.

The study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, also found medical rehabilitation patients are enjoying stable "functional outcomes," despite spending less time as inpatients at facilities.

The study by University of Texas researchers included 744 inpatient medical rehabilitation hospitals and centers located in 48 U.S. states. A total of 148,807 patient records were examined. The patients' average age was 67.8, the sample was 59 percent female and 81 percent non-Hispanic white.

Researchers found the average length of stay decreased from 20 to 12 days from 1994 to 2001, with the decrease greatest (42 percent) for patients with orthopedic conditions.

Functional status was clinically stable. Rates of discharge to home and living at home at follow-up remained stable, ranging from 81 percent to 93 percent.

However, mortality at 80- to 180-day follow-up increased from less than 1 percent in 1994 to 4.7 percent in 2001.

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