Key result
Higher mobility after cardiac surgery is linked to shorter stays, home discharges, and fewer 30-day readmissions.
Why the study?
Limited hospital rehabilitation services may minimize early mobility benefits after cardiac surgery, prompting investigation of factors and outcomes associated with maximal postoperative daily mobility.
Is higher maximum hospital daily mobility after open cardiac surgery associated with better psychological status and clinical outcomes?
Observational (n=650)
Yes
Is higher maximum hospital daily mobility after open cardiac surgery associated with better psychological status and clinical outcomes?
Higher daily mobility after open cardiac surgery is associated with better perceived health, shorter hospital stays, and lower 30-day rehospitalization rates.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Mobility tracking may inform post-cardiac surgery prognosis; hypothesis-generating, requiring RCTs to test causality.
BACKGROUND: Mobility after cardiac surgery is facilitated using phase 1 cardiac rehabilitation. However, rehabilitation services may be limited, minimizing the full benefits of hospital-based early mobility. OBJECTIVE: To examine patient, surgical, and postoperative factors and clinical outcomes associated with maximal postoperative daily mobility. METHODS: A multisite, prospective, correlational design was used. Post intensive care unit stay, daily mobility was collected, patients completed psychological status surveys, and medical record data were retrieved. Maximum daily mobility level scores were recategorized into 4 groups; higher levels and groups represented greater mobility. Relationships between mobility category scores and patient factors were described using Spearman correlations (95% confidence intervals). RESULTS: Participants (N = 650) had a median (25th-75th percentile) of 4.0 (3.0-5.0) non-intensive care days of mobility data. Of patients, 62 (9.5%) had very low mobility (<20 ft/day) and 419 (64.5%) achieved the highest mobility (>200 ft/day). Higher maximum daily mobility was associated with younger age, commercial insurance, lower body mass index, no history of myocardial infarction, heart failure, cerebrovascular disease or diabetes, higher hemoglobin/hematocrit, lower serum creatinine, and lower rates of prolonged ventilation (all P < .05). Higher maximum daily mobility was associated with higher perceived general health (P = .003), shorter hospital length of stay (P = .009), and higher likelihood of discharge to home (P < .001). Day 4 mobility level was associated with lower 30-day rehospitalization, P = .014. CONCLUSION: Maximal daily mobility after cardiac surgery varied by multiple factors-many that were not directly focused on the ability to ambulate. Attention to achieving higher post-intensive care unit daily mobility levels is warranted.
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Albert et al. (2025) conducted an observational in Post open cardiac surgery (n=650). Maximal postoperative daily mobility vs. Lower mobility levels was evaluated on Clinical outcomes including hospital length of stay, discharge to home, and 30-day rehospitalization. Higher maximum daily mobility after cardiac surgery was associated with shorter hospital stay (P=0.009), discharge to home (P<0.001), and lower 30-day rehospitalization (P=0.014).
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