Preoperative Home-Based Exercises to Decrease Postoperative Complications: A Clinical Practice Innovation

Cardiac surgery is associated with postoperative pulmonary complications that increase length of stay (LOS). The literature supports the use of preoperative exercise therapy to improve postoperative outcomes. This practice innovation implemented a home-based exercise program for adult patients who u...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for nurse practitioners 2021-06, Vol.17 (6), p.740-743
Main Authors: Vernon-Platt, Tracy, Bowers, Margaret, Ikonomidis, John, Caranasos, Thomas, Beer, Devon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
breathing exercises
Cardiac surgery
cardiac surgical procedure
Clinical medicine
Clinical outcomes
Complications
Exercise therapy
Heart surgery
Home based
Hospitals
Innovations
Intervention
Length of stay
Medical records
Patients
Perioperative care
Physical therapy
Pneumonia
postoperative complications
Postoperative morbidity
Rehabilitation
Respiratory therapy
Risk factors
Surgeons
Surgery
Transplants & implants
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Cardiac surgery is associated with postoperative pulmonary complications that increase length of stay (LOS). The literature supports the use of preoperative exercise therapy to improve postoperative outcomes. This practice innovation implemented a home-based exercise program for adult patients who undergo elective cardiac operations. The purpose of this innovation was to decrease LOS and postoperative pulmonary complications in those patients. No statistically significant differences were noted between the 2 groups, however, there was a trend toward decreased LOS in the innovation group. This practice innovation was safe and feasible to implement in an academic hospital. •Implementing a preoperative, home-based exercise program in a university hospital setting before elective cardiac surgery showed clinical relevance with a decreased length of stay.•This practice innovation was developed with an interprofessional team.•It is safe and feasible to implement a home-based, exercise program before elective cardiac operations.
ISSN:1555-4155
1878-058X
DOI:10.1016/j.nurpra.2021.01.001