Effects of early mobilisation program on functional capacity, daily living activities, and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide in patients hospitalised for acute heart failure. A randomised controlled trial.
Ahmad Mahdi Ahmad, Aya Ibrahim Elshenawy, Mohammed Abdelghany and 1 others
PMID 37584047WHAT IT FOUND
Early physiotherapy-led mobilisation for hospitalised heart failure patients significantly improved walking distance, daily independence, and shortened hospital stays compared to standard care alone.
While biomarkers dropped within the treatment group, the difference between groups did not reach statistical significance.
Key findings
01The mobilisation group walked significantly further on the six-minute walk test at discharge compared to controls.
02Patients receiving early mobilisation had significantly shorter hospital stays than those receiving usual care.
03Functional independence in daily activities improved significantly more in the mobilisation group than in the control group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study had a high dropout rate, with only 30 of the 40 recruited patients included in the final analysis. There was no long-term follow-up after discharge, so the durability of functional improvements is unknown. The study was single-centred, which may limit how well the results apply to other hospital settings.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and the study received no funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that early mobilisation significantly reduces NT-proBNP levels compared to usual care. While levels dropped within the treatment group, the difference between the groups was not statistically significant.