Physical and Functional Recovery From Cardiac Surgery in Hospitalized Patients: A Feasibility Pilot Study

Summary

Ambulation following surgery has been found to be beneficial for patients; however, nurses and doctors struggle with getting post-operative, hospitalized patients to walk on their own. One promising strategy to address this might be an ambulation orderly, an employee whose single responsibility is to assure that patients walk 3-4 times per day. However, the effect of the ambulation orderly on post-operative physical activity has not yet been described. It is important to quantify what the ambulation orderly does in order to assess if this is an effective method for helping patients walk. As a result, the investigators will perform a pilot randomized controlled trial to test the effects of an ambulation orderly in patients hospitalized with recent cardiac surgery. Half of the patients will be assigned to walk with the ambulation orderly 3-4 times/day and the control group will be given standard nursing encouragement and assistance and encouragement to walk. The investigators will evaluate the average total daily step counts (over the hospital course, usually 4-7 days) and the change in walking distance between a baseline and a final 6 minute walk test. The investigators will also evaluate exercise physiologic parameters (heart rate, oxygen saturation) during ambulation, patient functional independence, and patient satisfaction.

Conditions

• Coronary Artery Disease
• Mitral Valve Insufficiency
• Aortic Valve Stenosis
• Aortic Valve Regurgitation
• Mitral Valve Stenosis
• Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Triple Vessel

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Ambulation orderly

The responsibility of the ambulation orderly is to walk patients after having a cardiac surgery, such as a coronary artery bypass surgery or a valve surgery. Baystate Medical Center hired an ambulation orderly May 8, 2013. The ambulation orderly is generally a high school graduate with some training in safe lifting and exercise, but extensive training is not required. In general, the goal is to have 1 ambulation orderly present 7 days a week for 8 hr per day. When available, ambulation orderlies are responsible for walking the patients who have been cleared by the clinical exercise physiologist or nurse up to 4 times per day. The walking of the patients occurs through the halls of the 6th floor of the Mass Mutual wing of Baystate Medical Center.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Springfield College

  collaborator OTHER

• Baystate Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Peter Lindenauer, MD, MSc · Baystate Medical Center

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-03-31

Primary Completion

2015-07-31

Completion

2016-07-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations