Characterizing usual-care physical rehabilitation in Canadian intensive care unit patients: a secondary analysis of the Canadian multicentre Critical Care Cycling to Improve Lower Extremity Strength pilot randomized controlled trial

PurposePhysical rehabilitation (PR) in the intensive care unit (ICU) may improve outcomes for survivors but clinical trial results have been discordant. We hypothesized that discordant results may reflect treatment heterogeneity received by “usual care” comparator groups in PR studies. Usual-care PR is typically underspecified, which is a barrier to comparing results across treatment studies. The primary objective of the present study was to describe the usual-care PR received by critically ill patients enrolled in the Canadian multicentre Critical Care Cycling to Improve Lower Extremity Strength (CYCLE) pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of PR. Other objectives were to help contextualize current research and provide data for international comparison.MethodsIn this secondary analysis of the CYCLE pilot RCT, patients were randomized to in-bed cycling and usual-care PR or usual-care PR alone. Physiotherapists documented usual-care PR including therapy received, type of activity, duration, adverse events and consequences, reasons for no PR, and concurrent relevant medical interventions. We characterized usual care using descriptive statistics at the cohort and patient levels.ResultsAcross seven Canadian centres, 30 patients were randomized to usual-care PR. The median [interquartile range (IQR)] ICU stay was 10 [9–24] days and patients received PR on a median [IQR] of 5 [3–9] days for 23 [17–30] min per day. Eighteen patients (60%) stood, marched, or walked during usual care. Transient adverse events occurred in three patients on 1.5% (3/198) of days and none prompted session termination.ConclusionsIn the usual-care arm of the CYCLE pilot RCT, PR was delivered on half of ICU days and over half of patients stood, marched, or walked. Adverse events during usual-care PR were uncommon.Study registrationClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02377830); first posted 4 March 2015.