Functional status change in older adults undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery

context and objective: increased life expectancy has resulted in growing numbers of elderly patients undergoing heart surgery. this study aimed to identify changes in functional status among older adults undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. design and setting: prospective observational cohort study conducted at a level iv private hospital in brazil. methods: patients were assessed using the katz and lawton scales and the functional independence measure before admission, at hospital discharge and one month after discharge. repeated-measurement analysis of variance was used. results: two patients died during hospitalization. among the 31 patients included, the functional independence measure ranged from 121.7 ± 7.4 (pre-admission) to 91.1 ± 20.5 (discharge) and 109.0 ± 21.7 (one month after discharge); the katz scale from 5.92 ± 0.32 to 4.18 ± 1.04 and 5.13 ± 1.30; and the lawton scale from 24.3 ± 4.6 to 12.8 ± 2.0 and 16.5 ± 4.6 (p = 0.0001). when subgroups with (18) and without (13) complications were compared, the functional independence measure (p = 0.085) showed a trend, although not significantly, toward recovery one month after discharge. delirium and blood transfusion were the intercurrent events found. there was a correlation between the scales and age (p = 0.008), apache ii (p = 0.051), euroscore (p = 0.064), intensive care unit stay (p = 0.024) and overall hospital length of stay (p = 0.040). conclusion: the functional independence measure proved to be a promising tool for monitoring the functional status of elderly patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting, especially in the subgroup with complications.