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Optimizing Outcomes With Physical Therapy Treatment for IndividuALs Surviving an ICU Admission for Covid-19

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Covid-19
Critical Illness
Post Intensive Care Unit Syndrome
Muscle Weakness
Interventions
Other: ICU Recovery + Physical Therapy
Registration Number
NCT04412330
Lead Sponsor
University of Kentucky
Brief Summary

Introduction: Survivors of acute respiratory failure develop persistent muscle weakness and deficits in cardiopulmonary endurance combining to limit physical functioning. Early data from the Covid-19 pandemic suggest a high incidence of critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) will require mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure. Covid-19 patients surviving an admission to the ICU are expected to suffer from physical and cognitive impairments that will limit quality of life and return to pre-hospital level of functioning. In this present study, the investigators will evaluate the safety and feasibility of providing a novel clinical pathway combining ICU after-care at an ICU Recovery clinic with physical therapy interventions.

Methods and Analysis: In this single-center, prospective (pre, post cohort) trial in patients surviving ICU admission for Covid-19. The investigators hypothesize that this novel combination is a) safe and feasible to provide for patients surviving Covid-19; b) improve physical function and exercise capacity measured by performance on 6-minute walk test and Short Performance Physical battery; and c) reduce incidence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress assessed with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Impact of Events Scale-revised. Safety will be assessed by pooled adverse events and reason for early termination of interventions. Feasibility will be assessed by rate of adherence and attrition. Repeated measures ANOVA will be utilized to assess change in outcomes from at first ICU Recovery Clinic follow-up (2-weeks) and 3- and 6-months post hospital discharge.

Ethics and Dissemination: The trial has received ethics approval at the University of Kentucky and enrollment has begun. The results of this trial will support the feasibility of providing ICU follow-up and physical therapy interventions for patients surviving critical illness for Covid-19 and may begin to support effectiveness of such interventions. Investigators plan to disseminate trial results in peer-reviewed journals, as well as presentation at physical therapy and critical care national and international conferences.

Detailed Description

ICU Recovery Clinic is standard of care for patients surviving a critical illness in the Medical ICU at the University of Kentucky. The ICU Recovery Clinic includes a transdisciplinary team with input from five disciplines that provide coordinated outpatient care with a focus on medical issues, medication management, nutrition, sleep disruption, and any issues related to post-intensive care syndrome such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, cognitive dysfunction and physical impairments.

Individualized physical therapy treatment: After the initial ICU recovery clinic appointment patients will begin their 8-week physical therapy program which will be delivered 1-2 times per week in a supervised 1:1 session and supplemented with 3 days of unsupervised home exercises and walking program on days not participating in physical therapy sessions. Supervised sessions will be run by a physical therapist (\>20 years of experience in ICU and pulmonary rehabilitation) either face to face in outpatient setting or through telemedicine using video consultation platforms for patients unable to attend appointments due to transmission risk, transportation issues, or geographically living \>45 miles from clinic. Prior to commencing the first treatment session patients will complete baseline testing to inform the starting parameters (frequency, intensity, repetitions) based on performance in physical tests such as 6MWT and muscle strength testing. The patient will receive an individualized and tailored physical therapy treatment, which will be targeted towards increasing their aerobic fitness, muscle strength and functional ability.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
32
Inclusion Criteria
  • Adult patients (>18 years of age) surviving an ICU admission with laboratory confirmed Covid-19.
Exclusion Criteria
  • pre-existing neurological or orthopedic injury, disease, or condition that would prevent participation in exercise interventions.
  • patient not ambulatory prior to hospitalization
  • patient not expected to survivor 90 days after hospitalization
  • pregnant
  • prisoner

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
SINGLE_GROUP
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
ICU followup + physical therapyICU Recovery + Physical TherapyPatients surviving ICU admission for Covid-19 will receive ICU follow-up care in an ICU Recovery Clinic plus 8 weeks of physical therapy interventions. ICU Recovery Clinic is standard of care for patients surviving medical ICU admission at University of Kentucky with potential to attend in person or complete through telemedicine up to 5 appointments in the first year after hospital discharge. Physical therapy interventions completed at an outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation center or through telemedicine is not currently standard of care for patients in the short-term recovery phase (1-6 months after hospital discharge) after critical illness.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Adverse events (safety)through study completion, an average of 3-months

Incidence of adverse events, quantified by pain or discomfort that causes termination of interventions; a fall (with or without injury) during interventions or directly related to interventions such as fall due to fatigue; and physiologic event/abnormality that warrants termination of interventions or medical follow-up including bradycardia, tachycardia, and emergent hypertension

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Cognitive functionAssessed at baseline, and repeated 3- and 6-months post hospital discharge

Cognitive function will be assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) with \<23/30 distinguishing mild cognitive impairment. If the patient participating in telemedicine through Zoom then the MOCA-Blind version will be completed.

Return to workAssessed at baseline, and repeated 3- and 6-months post hospital discharge

For patients previously employed, the return to work will be assessed using the self-report survey instrument designed for ICU follow-up

Secondary complicationAssessed 3 and 6-months post hospital discharge

Readmission rate and morality with be assessed

Anxiety and DepressionAssessed at baseline, and repeated 3- and 6-months post hospital discharge

Anxiety and depression will be assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), a fourteen-item scale with subset scores of \>8/21 indicating anxiety or depression

Feasibility (success of consent process, adherence, and attrition)through study completion, an average of 3-months

Feasibility will be assessed by the consent rate (number of patients agreed to participate/number of patients approached for consent) and adherence attendance measured by the percentage of sessions patient participated divided total number of scheduled appointments. Adherence will also be prospectively assessed by total duration of exercise, dosage and intensity of exercises as described above. Attrition will be quantified by number of patients lost to follow-up.

Six minute walk testAssessed at baseline, and repeated 3- and 6-months post hospital discharge

Distance walked on six-minute walk test performed in line with the ATS/ERS Guidelines as measure of exercise capacity

Quality of life (EQ-5DL)Assessed at baseline, and repeated 3- and 6-months post hospital discharge

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) will be measured by self-report questionnaire, the Five Dimension Euro-Quality of Life (EQ-5D) that includes a visual analog scale with rating for overall HRQoL (0-100)

Short Performance Physical BatteryAssessed at baseline, and repeated 3- and 6-months post hospital discharge

Short Performance Physical Battery (SPPB) is a performance-based physical function test with components of balance, repetitive five times sit-to-stand for time, and 4-meter habitual gait speed. Higher scores on SPPB indicate better physical function.

PTSD and distressAssessed at baseline, and repeated 3- and 6-months post hospital discharge

Distress and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be assessed through the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R), a 22-item self-report measure, with scores \>35/88 recommending provisional diagnosis of PTSD

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Kentucky

🇺🇸

Lexington, Kentucky, United States

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