Early mobilization of patients who have had a hip or knee joint replacement reduces length of stay in hospital: a systematic review

Five randomized controlled trials comparing early mobilization to delayed mobilization of patients after total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were included in this meta-analysis. The purpose of the study was to determine if early mobilization resulted in faster discharge from the hospital following surgery and to compare patient outcomes to delayed mobilization. The primary outcome of interest was the length of hospital stay and pooled analysis revealed that early mobilization resulted in a significantly shorter stay, by a difference of about 1.8 days when compared to delayed mobilization. Qualitative analysis of secondary outcomes found a slight benefit to early mobilization for impairment and patient reported function/quality of life, but no difference between groups in patient satisfaction or number of adverse events.