Abstract

Introduction: Given that the relevancy of early physiotherapy (PT) in persons undergoing emergency abdominal surgery is unknown, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of early versus late physiotherapy in improving functional levels and reducing postoperative complications (PC) in adults undergoing this procedure. Methodology: Longitudinal retrospective study which included a sample of 132 patients admitted for emergency abdominal surgery. Functionality was evaluated using the Barthel index and the cumulated ambulation score (CAS). In addition, the type of PT (early vs. late) and the date of its onset were recorded, the PC during the hospital stay and the length of stay were recorded. Results: Patients that received early PT exhibited less severe postoperative complications (p = 0.012). Moreover, this group had a shorter length of stay (median = 10 vs. 17 days; p = 0.0001). In addition, in terms of functionality, decreases were observed during hospitalization compared with baseline levels (Barthel index and CAS), whereas a partial increase was observed at discharge, without differences between the patients that received early PT or not. Nevertheless, the early PT group required a lower number of PT sessions (p = 0.04). Conclusion: In this study, a less severe postoperative complications rate, shorter length of stay, and lower necessity of PT sessions were observed in adults undergoing emergency abdominal surgery that received early PT versus late PT. This suggests that early PT in this context would optimize health care resources, improving the postoperative process in these patients.