Early Mobilization in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit: Shorter Stays and Better Functional Status

Recent studies have not demonstrated consistently that intensive physical therapy or mobility efforts benefit critically ill patients (NEJM JW Gen Med Sep 15 2016 and JAMA 2016; 315:2694). However, these studies have had limitations and raised questions about whether intervention was started early enough, targeted ideal patient populations, or persisted long enough after intensive care unit (ICU) stays. To answer some of these questions, investigators enrolled 200 surgical ICU patients within 48 hours of being mechanically ventilated and randomized them to receive either early goal-directed mobilization or standard care. For intervention patients, a facilitator (a physician, nurse, or therapist who already was part of the critical care staf…