Early mobilisation after hip fracture surgery is associated with improved patient outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction:- The aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to determine if after hip fracture surgery 1) early mobilisation is associated with improved clinical outcomes, and if so 2) are benefits directly proportional to how soon after surgery the patient mobilises

Methods:- A PRISMA systematic review was conducted using four databases to identify all studies that compared postoperative early mobilisation with delayed mobilisation in patients after hip fracture surgery. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist was employed for critical appraisal and evaluation of all studies that met the inclusion criteria.

Results:- A total of thirteen studies including 297,435 patients were identified, of which 235,275 patients were mobilised early and 62,160 were mobilised late. Six studies assessed 30- day mortality, of which two also investigated 30-day complication rates. Pooled meta-analysis demonstrated that there were significantly lower 30-day mortality rates (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.31 - 0.41, p<0.001) and complication rates (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.36 - 0.51, p<0.001) in patients mobilising early after hip fracture surgery. Five studies investigated length of stay and metaanalysis revealed no difference between groups (mean difference -0.57 days, 95%CI -1.89 - 0.74, p=0.39).

Conclusion:- Early mobilisation in hip fracture patients is associated with a reduction in 30-day mortality and complication rates compared to delayed mobilisation, but no difference in length of stay. These findings illustrate that early mobilisation is associated with superior post operative outcomes. However, a direct casual effect remains to be demonstrated, and further work on the factors underlying delayed mobilisation is required.