Effect of Number of Days to Ambulation on Postoperative Daily Activities in Patients with Type A Aortic Dissection.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the number of days from surgery to ambulation on activities of daily living (ADL) at discharge in postoperative patients with type A aortic dissection (TAAD).

Methods: It included patients with a diagnosis of TAAD who were independent in ADL before the onset of symptoms. ADL was assessed using the Katz Index (KI), with a KI score of 6 points at discharge defining independence and less than 6 points classified as dependence. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on independence in ADL at discharge. Logistic regression analysis was performed with independence in ADL at discharge as the object variable and the number of days from surgery to ambulation as the explanatory variable. A receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to calculate the cutoff value.

Results: A total of 100 patients were included in the analysis. There was a significant difference in the number of days to ambulation between the 2 groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the probability of being independent in ADL at discharge was significantly lower with more days to ambulation (odds ratio: 0.93, 95% confidence interval: 0.86-0.99, P < 0.035). The cutoff value for the number of days from surgery to ambulation for independence in ADL at discharge was 8 days (area under the curve: 0.64).

Conclusions: In postoperative patients with TAAD, the longer the postoperative days to start ambulation, the more difficult ADL recovery may be, but the cutoff values need further validation.