Robot-Assisted Training Early After Cardiac Surgery

Background To assess feasibility and safety of a robot-assisted gait therapy with the Lokomat® system in patients early after open heart surgery. Methods Within days after open heart surgery 10 patients were subjected to postoperative Lokomat® training (Intervention group, IG) whereas 20 patients served as controls undergoing standard postoperative physiotherapy (Control group, CG). All patients underwent six-minute walk test and evaluation of the muscular strength of the lower limbs by measuring quadriceps peak force. The primary safety end-point was freedom from any device-related wound healing disturbance. Patients underwent clinical follow-up after one month. Results Both training methods resulted in an improvement of walking distance (IG [median, interquartile range, p-value]: +119 m, 70–201 m, p = 0.005; CG: 105 m, 57–152.5m, p