BACKGROUND: Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) accounts for about seven million deaths every year. Early mobilization is needed to optimize health status in ACS patients as recommended by current European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines and American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines.
AIMS: evaluate the impact of a quality improvement nursing project on early mobilization after ACS, analyzing data before and after the implementation of an evidence-based company protocol.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: from 04/01/2023 to 30 /07/2023 the first data collection phase (baseline) took place detecting mobilization times and complications in patients according to the habits of the care setting in the ICCU. A protocol was then created and implemented. The second data collection phase (post implementation) began on 01/09/2023 and will end on 31/12/2023 with the same data collection method. Data were collected consecutively in patients admitted to the ICCU of the AST Pesaro/Urbino (S.Salvatore Pesaro establishment) because of uncomplicated ACS, patients were self-sufficient at home, without cognitive disorders and comorbidities limiting mobilization, absence of femoral introducer. Data collection form was created containing: personal data, medical diagnosis, patient characteristics, complications during mobilization, Troponin I value.
RESULTS: 50 patients were enrolled at baseline and post-implementation data collection is still underway. From an initial analysis of the data, an average reduction in the length of stay of 6.19%, equal to 0.43 days, was recorded. Patients in the experimental group developed a lower complication rate than the control group (9% vs 4.52%) with a reduction in the complication rate of 4.48%.
CONCLUSIONS: the implementation of the protocol allows a standardization of assistance in the mobilization of patients, also guaranteeing psycho-physical benefits. The first results highlight a reduction in hospitalization times and complications related to mobilization. Further data will be analyzed at the end of data collection on 12/31/2023. Limitations: low sample size and unfavorable environment (absence of telemetry and nearby toilets).