Effects of Early Gait Training on Inpatient Frailty After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the number of days of early gait training and frailty in in-hospital patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis, focusing on the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and clinical laboratory data.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Sixty-nine patients admitted to the Ichinomiya West Hospital from November 1, 2019 to November 30, 2023 were included in the study. Of the 69 patients, those who started gait training on postoperative day 0 or 1 were defined as the early gait training group and those who started gait training later than postoperative day 1 were defined as the delayed gait training group. There was a significant difference in the number of days to gait training initiation, which was 3.9 days in the delayed gait training group and 0.9 days in the early gait training group. The early gait training group started early mobilization and had a significantly shorter postoperative hospital stay than the delayed gait training group. Clinical laboratory data showed that walking speed was significantly faster and grip strength was significantly higher in the early group. The number of days to gait training initiation was an independent predictor of changes in CFS scores.

CONCLUSION

Early gait training in patients after TAVI may predict early improvements in physical function and movement, shorter hospital stay, and frailty at discharge.