Can in-reach multidisciplinary rehabilitation in the acute ward improve outcomes for critical care survivors? A pilot randomized controlled trial

To assess the feasibility of in-reach rehabilitation for critical care survivors following discharge from the intensive care unit. To determine whether additional in-reach rehabilitation reduces hospital length-of-stay and improves outcomes in critical care survivors, compared with usual therapy. A total of 66 consecutively-admitted critical care survivors with an intensive care unit stay ≥ 5 days were enrolled in the study. Of these, 62 were included in the analyses. Pilot randomized control trial with blinded assessment at 6 and 12 months. The intervention group (n = 29) received in-reach rehabilitation in addition to usual ward therapy. The usual-care group (n = 33) received usual ward therapy. The primary outcome assessed was length-of-stay. Secondary outcomes included mobility, functional independence, psychological status and quality-of-life. The intervention group received more physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions per week than the usual-care group (median = 8.2 vs 4.9, p