Colleen Peters
Azusa Pacific University
GNRS 507: Scientific Writing Diana Amaya Rodriquez, PhD, MS, CNS, RN
July 3, 2013
Research studies conducted all over the world, including Japan, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, and the United States, have explored the effects of early ambulation. Early ambulation is defined as less than 48 hours after surgery. The purpose of this paper is to review current research regarding implementation of early mobilization in the post surgical hip patients that are 65 years of age or older. Early ambulation has been linked to accelerated recovery in the elderly who have undergone hip surgery. Accelerated recovery may …show more content…
Although this study was conducted in 2003, it is the only one of its kind to look specifically at the complications that can occur if early ambulation is not incorporated into the standard of care. In 2012, Kondo et al. researched if nurses encouraged early ambulation if it would decrease the incidence of complications. Their findings provided evidence that telling or encouraging patients to get out of bed predicted a lower incidence of complications in those older adults that had hip surgery. These findings also hold true in a literature review conducted in 2010; this study found that if early mobilization was implemented in conjunction with treatment of delirium through the use of low dose haloperidol, there was a decrease in length of stay and accelerated recovery for the post-operative hip patient (Mak, Cameron, & March, 2010).
Discharge directly home Most people would like to return home after their stay in an acute hospital. However, this is sometimes not the case due to complications that may have ensued. The effects of early ambulation can help patients return home after surgery rather than be put in an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Oldmeadow et al. (2006) looked at the effects of early ambulation in regards to patient’s functional level and length of stay, and also examined an additional outcome: patient discharge destination.