Prediction of Sepsis Recovery Physical Performance Subtypes: A Pilot Study

Patients with Sepsis who require ICU care, experience frequent weakness, physical dysfunction, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, and mental morbidity that persists after hospital discharge. This syndromic pattern has been labeled as Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) or Post Sepsis Syndrome (PSS). These patients are at increased risk of rehospitalization (up to 40% at 6 months). Studies have pointed out that sepsis survivors recover within several different recovery patterns or trajectories. Unfortunately there are no objective biomarkers early in these patients' hospitalizations, to predict which physical function trajectory a sepsis survivor will experience. However, a very common, unifying symptom of sepsis survivors is weakness. The literature maintains that an intervention of exercise rehabilitation remains a safe and potential therapy for sepsis survivors. It is important to note that as of yet, there has been no benefit demonstrated when highly heterogeneously functioning survivors are included in studies of a uniform rehabilitation intervention. However, for the future designs of ICU and post-hospital ICU Survivor exercise-rehab trials, the field is in need of information on how to label sepsis patients by their predicted outpatient recovery trajectory group, and to be able to do so very proximally in their course, prior to hospital discharge. The intent of this study is to closely track and characterize physical function recovery trajectory groups as a means of informing strategies for effective future study design.