Mobilization Started Within 2 Hours After Abdominal Surgery Improves Peripheral and Arterial Oxygenation: A Single-Center Randomized Controlled Trial.

Patients were excluded if they arrived after 6 pm, potentially missing those with evening surgeries or higher risk profiles. The control group was assessed in a supine position, while mobilized groups were assessed sitting, which confounds the effect of position versus mobilization activity. There was no group receiving breathing exercises only, so the isolated effect of breathing exercises cannot be determined. Baseline imbalances in patient characteristics existed between groups. The study was not blinded for patients or therapists, which could influence subjective outcomes or adherence, though objective oxygen measures were used. Some patients were discharged before the 3-hour assessment, reducing power for later time points.

Funding provided by Health Care Sciences at Karolinska Institutet and the Swedish Research Council. The funders had no role in the design, conduct, or reporting of the trial.

Do not assume that adding breathing exercises to early mobilization is necessary for immediate postoperative oxygenation benefits. The trial showed that mobilization alone improved PaO2 just as effectively as mobilization combined with breathing exercises, and the benefit of the exercises alone was not tested.