ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of early preoperative mobilization on the rehabilitation of the elderly patients with hip fractures after operation.MethodsThe clinical data of 16 elderly patients with hip fractures between February 2017 and April 2018 who met the selection criteria was retrospectively analyzed. There were 8 males and 8 females, with an average age of 80.3 years (range, 69-90 years). There were 8 cases of intertrochanteric fracture and 8 cases of femoral neck fracture. The preoperative American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scored 2.94±0.43. There were 3 cases of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, 6 cases of essential hypertension, 5 cases of respiratory diseases, 3 cases of diabetes, and 2 cases of other system diseases. The time from injury to admission was 4 hours to 14 days with an average of 39.5 hours. On the day of admission or on the first day after admission, the patient started to exercise on the floor underwent analgesia treatment. And the patients were treated with closed reduction (9 cases) or artificial hip arthroplasty (7 cases). The time from admission to operation was 4 to 25 days, with an average of 7.4 days. At the time of admission, after the first ground movement before operation, on the second day after operation, and at last follow-up, the Barthel Index was used to assess the patients’ self-care ability, and Barthel effectiveness (BE) was calculated. The complications were observed and recorded during follow-up.ResultsAll 16 patients underwent operation successfully. The hospital stay was 8 to 24 days, with an average of 14.1 days. All patients were followed up 2.5-16.0 months with an average of 6.5 months. One patient developed postoperative pulmonary infection; the remaining patients had no surgical-related complications. No patient died during the follow-up. The Barthel Index scored 30.63±5.56 at admission, 53.13±9.50 after the first ground movement before operation, 60.63±6.09 on the second day after operation, and 96.25±4.84 at last follow-up. There were significant differences in Barthel Index scores between different time points (P<0.05). The BE was 0.23±0.06 after the first ground movement before operation, 0.30±0.04 on the second day after operation, and 0.66±0.06 at last follow-up. There were significant differences in BE between different time points (P<0.05).ConclusionFor elderly patients with hip fractures who have long waiting time before operation, early preoperative mobilization has a positive impact on patients’ activities of daily living.