Early mobilization in neurocritical care patients

To examine the potential benefits of early mobilization in neurocritically ill patients and to summarize the recent evidence for and against early mobilization.

Early ICU mobilization in medically critically ill patients may decrease ICU and hospital length of stay, increase discharge-to-home, and reduce medical costs. Whether these benefits apply to neurologically critically ill patients remains unclear, as neuro ICU patients are often excluded from trials of early mobility. Neurocritically ill patients may present with hemodynamic instability, acute hemiplegia, altered consciousness and visual field deficits which complicate mobilization, or have cerebral ischemia, which may be exacerbated when upright or active. Results of early mobilization in neurocritical care are mixed. For example, a randomized trial in acute ischemic stroke demonstrated that very early mobilization was associated with worse outcomes. However, many smaller intervention trials in neurocritical care demonstrate safety and feasibility with early mobilization, including those in patients with invasive devices, for example, external ventricular drains.

Given successes in other critically ill populations, early mobility of neurocritically ill patients may be warranted. However, caution should be exercised given the results in acute stroke trials. In addition, before routine use, the character, quality, dose, duration, and timing of early mobilization therapies requires further definition.