Rocking Motion Therapy for Delirious Patients in the ICU: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial

Rocking motion therapy has been shown to calm people with dementia but has never been investigated in delirious patients in the ICU. The aim of this clinical trial was to investigate the efficacy and safety of a rocking motion vs. nonrocking motion chair on the duration of delirium and intensity of agitation in ICU patients with delirium. We hypothesized that rocking motion therapy would increase the number of days alive without coma or delirium at 2 weeks of follow-up.

This was a multicenter, investigator initiated, parallel-group randomized controlled trial.

ICU patients 18 years or older with a positive delirium assessment.

Participants were assigned to either a minimum of 20 minutes rocking motion therapy or a minimum of 20 minutes in the same chair without rocking motion therapy turned on daily.

The primary outcome was days alive without coma or delirium 2 weeks after randomization. We enrolled 149 patients; 73 were randomly assigned to rocking motion therapy and 76 to nonrocking motion therapy. Primary outcome data were available in 141 patients.

Among patients with delirium in the ICU, the use of rocking motion therapy did not lead to a statistically significantly greater number of days alive without coma or delirium at the 2 weeks of follow-up than nonrocking motion therapy.