Early physical and occupational therapy in mechanically ventilated, critically ill patients: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Long-term complications of critical illness include intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired weakness and neuropsychiatric disease. Immobilisation secondary to sedation might potentiate these problems. We assessed the efficacy of combining daily interruption of sedation with physical and occupational therapy on functional outcomes in patients receiving mechanical ventilation in intensive care. METHODS: Sedated adults (>/=18 years of age) in the ICU who had been on mechanical ventilation for less than 72 h, were expected to continue for at least 24 h, and who met criteria for baseline functional independence were eligible for enrolment in this randomised controlled trial at two university hospitals. We randomly assigned 104 patients by computer-generated, permuted block randomisation to early exercise and mobilisation (physical and occupational therapy) during periods of daily interruption of sedation (intervention; n=49) or to daily interruption of sedation with therapy as ordered by the primary care team (control; n=55). The primary endpoint-the number of patients returning to independent functional status at hospital discharge-was defined as the ability to perform six activities of daily living and the ability to walk independently. Therapists who undertook patient assessments were blinded to treatment assignment. Secondary endpoints included duration of delirium and ventilator-free days during the first 28 days of hospital stay. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00322010. FINDINGS: All 104 patients were included in the analysis. Return to independent functional status at hospital discharge occurred in 29 (59%) patients in the intervention group compared with 19 (35%) patients in the control group (p=0.02; odds ratio 2.7 [95% CI 1.2-6.1]). Patients in the intervention group had shorter duration of delirium (median 2.0 days, IQR 0.0-6.0 vs 4.0 days, 2.0-8.0; p=0.02), and more ventilator-free days (23.5 days, 7.4-25.6 vs 21.1 days, 0.0-23.8; p=0.05) during the 28-day follow-up period than did controls. There was one serious adverse event in 498 therapy sessions (desaturation less than 80%). Discontinuation of therapy as a result of patient instability occurred in 19 (4%) of all sessions, most commonly for perceived patient-ventilator asynchrony. INTERPRETATION: A strategy for whole-body rehabilitation-consisting of interruption of sedation and physical and occupational therapy in the earliest days of critical illness-was safe and well tolerated, and resulted in better functional outcomes at hospital discharge, a shorter duration of delirium, and more ventilator-free days compared with standard care. FUNDING: None.

Feasibility of physical and occupational therapy beginning from initiation of mechanical ventilation.

OBJECTIVE: Physical and occupational therapy are possible immediately after intubation in mechanically ventilated medical intensive care unit patients. The objective of this study was to describe a protocol of daily sedative interruption and early physical and occupational therapy and to specify details of intensive care unit-based therapy, including neurocognitive state, potential barriers, and adverse events related to this intervention. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: Detailed descriptive study of the intervention arm of a trial of mechanically ventilated patients receiving early physical and occupational therapy. SETTING: Two tertiary care academic medical centers participating in a randomized controlled trial. INTERVENTION: Patients underwent daily sedative interruption followed by physical and occupational therapy every hospital day until achieving independent functional status. Therapy began with active range of motion and progressed to activities of daily living, sitting, standing, and walking as tolerated. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Forty-nine mechanically ventilated patients received early physical and occupational therapy occurring a median of 1.5 days (range, 1.0-2.1 days) after intubation. Therapy was provided on 90% of MICU days during mechanical ventilation. While endotracheally intubated, subjects sat at the edge of the bed in 69% of all physical and occupational therapy sessions, transferred from bed to chair in 33%, stood in 33%, and ambulated during 15% (n = 26 of 168) of all physical and occupational therapy sessions (median distance of 15 feet; range, 15-20 feet). At least one potential barrier to mobilization during mechanical ventilation (acute lung injury, vasoactive medication administration, delirium, renal replacement therapy, or body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m) was present in 89% of patient encounters. Therapy was interrupted prematurely in 4% of all sessions, most commonly for patient-ventilator asynchrony and agitation. CONCLUSION: Early physical and occupational therapy is feasible from the onset of mechanical ventilation despite high illness acuity and presence of life support devices. Adverse events are uncommon, even in this high-risk group.

Vacuum-assisted closure for sternal wounds: a first-line therapeutic management approach.

BACKGROUND: Vacuum-assisted closure therapy has gained widespread use since its introduction in 1997. Previous studies have attributed significant benefit to its use for treatment of sternal wounds with or without mediastinitis. Management of sternal wounds with this therapy has been shown to decrease the number of dressing changes, reduce the time between débridement and definitive closure, and reduce costs associated with a protracted course of in-hospital dressing changes. The therapy has been used both as a bridge between débridement and definitive closure and as a catalyst to secondary sternal-wound healing. METHODS: The authors performed a retrospective review of 103 patients who underwent vacuum-assisted closure therapy after median sternotomy between June of 1999 and March of 2004 at a single institution. The wounds were classified as sterile wounds, superficial sternal infections, and mediastinitis. The wound closure device, consisting of a polyurethane sponge and evacuation tube with in-line suction, was applied sterilely to all wounds over a layer of Acticoat. RESULTS: Vacuum-assisted closure was utilized in the treatment of sternal wounds for 103 patients (67 male patients and 36 female patients) whose mean age was 52 years (range, 3 months to 91 years). Patient comorbidities included diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, end-stage renal disease, immunosuppression, and others. Sixty-four percent of the patients had a diagnosis of mediastinitis; 36 percent had either superficial infections or a sterile wound. The therapy was utilized for an average period of 11 days per patient. Sixty-eight percent of the patients (70 of 103) had definitive chest closure with open reduction internal fixation and/or flap closure. The remaining 32 percent had no definitive closure method. The overall mortality rate was 28 percent (29 of 103 patients), although no deaths were directly related to use of the therapy, and only four deaths resulted from sepsis as a consequence of mediastinitis. CONCLUSIONS: The authors report the largest series of patients treated with this therapy for post-sternotomy sternal wounds and believe it is safe and effective as a first-line therapy in the management of sternal wounds. The mortality rate from their study represents the patients' underlying disease process and comorbidities and is not a reflection of complications associated with the therapy. Vacuum-assisted closure therapy has been shown to decrease wound edema, decrease the time to definitive closure, and reduce wound bacterial colony counts. The authors have implemented the therapy for most patients with sternal wounds/mediastinitis at their institution, and believe it should be a standard protocol in the first-line management of these types of wounds.