Carnitine Deficiency in Rehabilitation Ward Individuals and its Association With Activities of Daily Living: A Pilot Retrospective Observational Study ; リハビリテーション病棟患者におけるカルニチン欠乏症と日常生活活動との関係：パイロット観察研究

鹿児島大学 ; 博士(医学) ; Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Science ; 博士論文全文, 博士論文要旨, 最終試験結果の要旨, 論文審査の要旨 ; Objective: To investigate the presence of carnitine deficiency in a rehabilitation ward and the differences in functional independence measure (FIM) motor scores between participants with and without carnitine deficiency. Design: A pilot, single-center, cross-sectional, retrospective observational study. Setting: A rehabilitation ward of a hospital where 34% of the local population is aged ≥65 years. Participants: Hospitalized patients in a rehabilitation ward who underwent a blood test during the 3-month observation period; carnitine was measured in participants (N=141) (mean age, 80.3y; 46 men). Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with carnitine deficiency. The secondary outcome was the FIM motor score at admission. Other outcomes were exploratory. Results: The prevalence of carnitine deficiency was 8.5% (12 of 141 participants); 9 of 116 participants (7.8%) were primarily hospitalized for musculoskeletal diseases, and 3 of 24 (12.5%) had cerebrovascular diseases. Participants with carnitine deficiency had significantly lower FIM motor scores (median, 25.0; interquartile range [IQR], 17.2-36.2) than those without (median, 45.0; IQR, 27.0-65.0]; P=.02). The median difference was estimated to be 18.0 (95% CI, 4.0-33.0). Conclusions: This study revealed the presence of carnitine deficiency in a rehabilitation ward in patients who had suffered from stroke or musculoskeletal disease and suggests a possible association with greater difficulty in performing ADL. Further studies in this area are needed. ; Makoto Ueno, Kentaro Kawamura, Rintaro Ohama, Keizo Shigenobu, Tadashi Ogura, Megumi Shimodozono Carnitine Deficiency in Rehabilitation Ward Individuals and its Association With Activities of Daily Living: A Pilot Retrospective Observational Study Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Translation (2025) 7, 100493 ...