Effect of nationwide postoperative rehabilitation at home program after lower extremity surgeries in older and younger people.

Background: A nationwide Rehabilitation at Home Care Pilot Program for patients undergoing lower extremity orthopedic surgeries has been ongoing since 2020. The program was designed to improve clinical outcomes through early mobilization and rehabilitation after discharge. This study aimed to analyze the interim data to assess its effectiveness and suggest improvements, particularly for older patients who are more vulnerable compared to younger patients.

Methods: We analyzed the data of 872 patients from seven hospitals. Patients were divided into an older-age group (OG) (≥ 60 years) and younger-age group (YG) (< 60 years). The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and numeric rating scale (NRS) scores for pain were the main outcomes.

Results: Participants were categorized into OG (n=801) and YG (n=71). The most common surgeries were knee joint replacement (63.7%) in OG and hip joint replacement in YG (77.5%). It took more days to enroll in the pilot program in OG (4.4 days) than YG (3.2 days). OG showed less improvement in BBS than YG for all surgeries (23.3 vs. 31.9) and hip joint surgery (19.8 vs. 33.5). In patients with hip joint replacement in OG, those with a higher number of comorbidities (≥3) showed less BBS improvement than those with fewer comorbidities (<3). In the pain domain, NRS scores decreased in both groups.

Conclusion: The postoperative rehabilitation education program appeared to be effective in improving physical function and reducing pain severity, though the improvement was less obvious in older patients who may require a more comprehensive approach compared to younger patients.