A new study published in Spine examines patient outcomes, complications and readmission rates to see whether early ambulation after adult scoliosis correction surgery can improve outcomes.
The study included 125 patients over 65 years old who underwent elective spine surgery for adult degenerative scoliosis correction. The patients were categorized by the number of days to mobility, with early ambulators at the top quartile and late ambulators at the bottom quartile. The early ambulators were up within 24 hours of surgery while the late ambulators were up within 48 hours minimum post procedure.
The study authors found:
1. The late ambulators were more likely to have at least one significant complication than the early ambulators; 30 percent of early ambulators reported a significant complication, compared to 54 percent of late ambulators.
2. Early ambulators stayed in the hospital for 5.33 days on average, compared to 8.11 days for late ambulators. The early ambulators had a 34 percent shorter LOS.
3. Most patients who ambulated within 24 hours of surgery were discharged home, 71.2 percent, while 22 percent of late ambulators were discharged home.
4. Late ambulators reported inferior functional outcomes when compared with the early ambulators.
5. The study authors concluded early ambulation can reduce perioperative complication incidence and improve perioperative functional status. "Even a delay of 24 hours to ambulation is associated with higher complication rates and inferior functional outcomes," they wrote.