The Effect of Postoperative Mobilization with a Pedometer on Pulmonary Functions and Length of Postoperative Hospital Stay in Patients Undergoing Lung Resection: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

ABS TRACT Objective: Mobilization takes an important place in providing postoperative pulmonary rehabilitation and is accepted as an effective factor in accelerating the recovery process and improving physical and mental health. This study aims to determine the effect of postoperative mobilization with a pedometer on pulmonary functions and length of postoperative hospital stay in patients undergoing lung resection. Material and Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 52 patients in a thoracic surgery clinic of a university hospital . The "patient identification form" and the "patient results evaluation form" were used to collect the data. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to test the compatibility of the data to normal distribution. The Spearman correlation analysis was used in analyzing the data. Result: It was revealed that the total step count and walking distance did not affect the postoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1 ), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV 1 /FVC values (p>0.05). A weak negative correlation was determined between total step count and the length of postoperative hospital stay (p<0.05). It was found that 84.6% of the patients were satisfied/very satisfied with the use of a pedometer. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the increase in the step count was not effective on pulmonary functions in the early period but shortened the length of postoperative hospital stay. We recommend the use of a pedometer after lung resections since it standardizes the mobilization measurement, promotes mobilization, and shortens the length of hospital stay owing to its contributions to pulmonary physiotherapy.

Utilization of Wearable Pedometer Devices in the Perioperative Period: A Qualitative Systematic Review

“…Other observational studies found that mean daily step count for the duration of the hospital stay may be negatively correlated with the length of hospital stay; 20,29 however, the significance of this is unclear. Risk of bias was high.…”