The mean values (SD in brackets) at admission, hospital discharge, and 12 months follow-up, respectively, were as follows:
Ritchie Index for day care group, 27 (15.2), 15.2 (11.6), and 22.4 (12.3);
Ritchie Index for inpatients, 27 (14.5), 17.6 (11.7), and 20.6 (10.1);
ESR for day care group, 54 (34), 36 (32), and 33 (27);
ESR for the inpatient group, 48 (32), 33 (28), and 33 (25);
health assessment questionnaire score for day care group 1.74 (0.42), 1.37 (0.65), and 1.63 (0.6);
health assessment questionnaire for the inpatient group, 1.54 (0.44), 1.28 (0.57), and 1.47 (0.55).
The comparisons between values over time had p values less than 0.0001. However, the p value for intergroup comparisons at each point in time was greater than 0.05. The intergroup difference found in the HADS scores were considered as clinically insignificant, with the intragroup differences over time remaining statistically insignificant in both groups.