The impact of delayed mobilization on post-discharge outcomes after emergency abdominal surgery: A prospective cohort study in older patients

Abstract

Surgeons are increasingly treating seniors with complex care needs who are at high-risk of readmission and functional decline. Yet, the prognostic importance of post-operative mobilization in older surgical patients is under-investigated and remains unclear. Thus, we evaluated the relationship between post-operative mobilization and events after hospital discharge in older people. Overall, 306 survivors of emergency abdominal surgery aged ≥65y who required help with a priori defined as ‘delayed’ (≥36h) or ‘early’ (vs. 22 [10%], Pvs. 64 [28%], PTrial registration: clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02233153