Safety and feasibility of early mobilization in patients submitted to cardiac surgery using subxiphoid drain

Introduction: Patients submitted to heart surgery are restricted to the bed of the Intensive Care Units (ICUs), due to this period of immobility the individual is likely to present clinical and functional alterations. These complications can be avoided by early mobilization; however, in some hospitals, this is not feasible due to the use of subxiphoid drain in the immediate postoperative period.

Objective: To verify the safety and feasibility of mobilizing patients after cardiac surgery using subxiphoid drain.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study. On the first day the patient was positioned in sedestration in bed, then transferred from sitting to orthostasis, gait training and sedestration in an armchair. On the second postoperative day the same activities were performed, but with walking through the ICU with a progressive increase in distance. At all these moments, the patient was using the subxiphoid and intercostal drain. The patients were seen three times a day, but physical rehabilitation was performed twice. The adverse events considered were drain obstruction, accidental removal or displacement, total atrioventricular block, postoperative low output syndrome, cardiorespiratory arrest, pneumomediastinum, infection, and pericardial or myocardial damage.

Results: 176 patients were evaluated. Only 2 (0.4 %) of the patients had complications during or after mobilization, 1 (0.2 %) due to drain obstruction and 1 (0.2 %) due to accidental removal or displacement.

Conclusion: Based on the data observed in the results, we found that the application of early mobilization in patients using subxiphoid drain after cardiac surgery is a safe and feasible conduct.