Association of early oral intake after extubation and independent activities of daily living at discharge among intensive care unit patients: A single centre retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: We investigated the association between the time to first post-extubation oral intake, barriers to oral intake, and the rate of activities of daily living (ADL) independence at discharge (Barthel Index score <70).

Method: Consecutive patients admitted to the intensive care unit, aged ≥18 years, and mechanically ventilated for ≥48 hr were retrospectively enrolled. The time to first oral intake, barriers to oral intake, daily changes, and clinical outcomes were assessed. Multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for baseline characteristics was used to determine the association between time to first post-extubation oral intake and ADL independence.

Result: Among the 136 patients, 74 were assigned to the ADL independence group and 62 to the dependence group. The time to first post-extubation oral intake was significantly associated with ADL independence (adjusted  = < 0.001) and was a predictor of ADL independence at discharge. Respiratory and dysphagia-related factors (odds ratio [OR] 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.15-0.82,  = 0.015 and OR 0.07; CI 0.01-0.68,  = 0.021, respectively) were significantly associated with the ADL independence at discharge.

Conclusion: Respiratory and dysphagia-related factors, as barriers to the initiation of oral intake after extubation, were significantly associated with ADL independence at discharge.