The safety of a novel early mobilization protocol conducted by ICU physicians: a prospective observational study

There are numerous barriers to early mobilization (EM) in a resource-limited intensive care unit (ICU) without a specialized team or an EM culture, regarding patient stability while critically ill or in the presence of medical devices. We hypothesized that ICU physicians can overcome these barriers. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of EM according to the Maebashi EM protocol conducted by ICU physicians.

This was a single-center prospective observational study. All consecutive patients with an unplanned emergency admission were included in this study, according to the exclusion criteria. The observation period was from June 2015 to June 2016. Data regarding adverse events, medical devices in place during rehabilitation, protocol adherence, and rehabilitation outcomes were collected. The primary outcome was safety.

A total of 232 consecutively enrolled patients underwent 587 rehabilitation sessions. Thirteen adverse events occurred (2.2%; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-3.8%) and no specific treatment was needed. There were no instances of dislodgement or obstruction of medical devices, tubes, or lines. The incidence of adverse events associated with mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was 2.4 and 3.6%, respectively. Of 587 sessions, 387 (66%) sessions were performed at the active rehabilitation level, including sitting out of the bed, active transfer to a chair, standing, marching, and ambulating. ICU physicians attended over 95% of these active rehabilitation sessions. Of all patients, 143 (62%) got out of bed within 2 days (median 1.2 days; interquartile range 0.1-2.0).

EM according to the Maebashi EM protocol conducted by ICU physicians, without a specialized team or EM culture, was performed at a level of safety similar to previous studies performed by specialized teams, even with medical devices in place, including mechanical ventilation or ECMO. Protocolized EM led by ICU physicians can be initiated in the acute phase of critical illness without serious adverse events requiring additional treatment.