Effects of early rehabilitation therapy on patients with mechanical ventilation

For patients in intensive care unit (ICU), mechanical ventilation is an effective treatment to survive from acute illness and improve survival rates. However, long periods of bed rest and restricted physical activity can result in side effects. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of early rehabilitation therapy in patients with mechanical ventilation.

A randomized controlled trial was carried out. Sixty patients, with tracheal intubation or tracheostomy more than 48 hours and less than 72 hours, were admitted to the ICU of the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University, from May 2010 to May 2012. These patients were randomly divided into a rehabilitation group and a control group. In the rehabilitation group, rehabilitation therapy was performed twice daily, and the training time and intensity were adjusted according to the condition of the patients. Early rehabilitation therapy included heading up actively, transferring from the supine position to sitting position, sitting at the edge of the bed, sitting in chair, transferring from sitting to standing, and ambulating bedside. The patient's body mass index, days to first out of bed, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, APACHE II score, highest FiO2, lowest PaO2/FiO2 and hospital mortality of patients were all compared between the rehabilitation group and the control group. The differences between the two groups were compared using Student's t test.

There was no significant difference in body mass index, APACHE II score, highest FiO2, lowest PaO2/FiO2 and hospital mortality between the rehabilitation group and the control group (P>0.05). Patients in the rehabilitation group had shorter days to first out of bed (3.8±1.2 d vs. 7.3±2.8 d; P=0.00), duration of mechanical ventilation (5.6±2.1 d vs. 12.7±4.1 d; P=0.005) and length of ICU stay (12.7±4.1 d vs. 15.2±4.5 d; P=0.01) compared with the control group.

Early rehabilitation therapy was feasible and effective in improving the outcomes of patients with mechanical ventilation.