BALANCE ASSESSMENT RESULTS IN PATIENTS AFTER LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY DURING INPATIENT REHABILITATION

One of the most important functions that significantly affects a patient's motor performance after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LCE) is postural equilibrium. The development of a physical therapy program for patients after LCE requires tests that will assess the ability to perform daily tasks, identify the risk of downfalls, and also reflect the impact of temporary disability on the overall patient's health and quality of life. The use of clinical tests to assess patient's equilibrium in the process of physical therapy is necessary to formulate the goals of physical therapy and to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented rehabilitation program. The Bergen scale (BERGBALANCESCALE - BBS) includes 14 tests that require to maintain body in various positions and to perform specific tasks. Aim of the study is to determine the risk of pa-tients' downfall after LCE at the inpatient rehabilitation stage using the Bergen scale. Materials and methods. The study involved 30 patients after urgent cholecystectomy and 30 patients after scheduled cholecystectomy who were hospitalized in the surgical department of the Ivano-Frankivsk central city clinical hospital. The equilibrium assessment was performed on the second and fourth day after surgery. Exclusion criteria - patients with concomitant neurological diseases, severe condition of the patient. The score was based on the patient's ability to perform 14 tasks independently after LCE, or to do them according to specific time and distance requirements. Each component was rated on a five-point scale from 0 to 4, so total scores ranged from 0 to 56. Analyzing the results of the study, it becomes clear that in the early postoperative period (2 days after surgery) patients in both groups have a marked degree of impaired balance. However, in patients after urgent LCE, it is more pronounced. A statistically significant differ-ence was found between the two groups (p <0.05) both on the second and on day 4 after LCE. An evaluation of equilibrium on day 4 after surgery indicates a positive trend ((p <0.05), i.e. improvement in function, however, the risk of downfalls in two groups is still quite high, which obviously requires the development and imple-mentation of a physical therapy program for these pa-tients. Conclusions: 1. In comparison to other tests, Berg's equilibri-um scale has proven to be the most convincing functional test for the detection of equilibrium disfunctions and, in our opinion, can serve as a good tool for setting individual goals in a physical therapy program for patients after LCE. 2. In the early postoperative period (2 days after surgery) patients have a pronounced degree of impaired balance, which is due to age and concomitant pathology, more pronounced in patients after urgent cholecystecto-my. 3. An equilibrium score on day 4 after surgery indicates a positive trend (p <0.05), i.e. improvement in function, however, the risk of falls remains quite high. 4. The high level of downfall at the inpatient stage of rehabilitation after laparoscopic cholecystectomy necessitates the inclusion of methods and means aimed at restoring equilibrium function and muscle balance stability to the program of physical therapy both at the inpatient and outpatient stages of rehabilitation.