Association between out-of-bed mobilization during the ICU stay of elderly patients and long-term autonomy: A cohort study.

Purpose: Our objective was to estimate the impact of the absence of Out-of-Bed (OoB) mobilization during intensive care unit (ICU) stay among patients ≥70 years on their long-term autonomy.

Methods: We conducted an ancillary study of the multicenter FRAGIREA study, including patients aged over 70 years, admitted to ICU for more than 48 h. We excluded the patients who died before day 180, who were lost to follow-up, and for whom the baseline autonomy (ADL) score was not available. Patients were classified into the OoB or non-OoB-mobilization group, and the impact of OoB mobilization on the decreased 6-month autonomy was estimated.

Results: Among the 548 patients of the FRAGIREA cohort, 276 were included in the present study. Among them, 226 had OoB mobilization and 50 did not. 220/276 (80%) patients experienced the transfer to chair as rehabilitation therapy, passive mobilization and transfer to upright sitting were also frequently performed. A decrease in the 6-month autonomy was observed for 63 (23%) patients. After the elimination of potential confounders, non-OoB-mobilization patients had a greater risk of 6-month decreased autonomy (aOR 2.43 [1.18; 4.98]).

Conclusions: Mobilization during the ICU stay of elderly ICU patient survivors was associated with a lower decreased autonomy at 6 months.