An elderly-centered, personalized, physiotherapy program early after cardiac surgery.

BackgroundEarly post-surgery in-hospital rehabilitation in elderly patients should be aimed at accelerating the recovery of the highest level of functional autonomy and reducing the hospital stay.DesignWe designed a personalized physiotherapy program tailored to the frailty level of over-70-year-old patients soon after cardiac surgery. The aims of this study were (a) to validate our frailty-based approach for functional stratification of the patients, and (b) to assess the effect of the individualized program on independence and mobility, and compare it with our usual program.MethodsWe followed 224 consecutive patients aged 70–87 years, who followed either the personalized (n = 150) or usual (n = 74) program. All patients underwent a comprehensive physical functioning evaluation at the baseline and at the end of hospitalization.ResultsThe frailty-based stratification was successful in identifying those patients at higher risk of falls, with heavy nursing needs, greater dependency, and poorer heath status ...