Physiotherapy and Optimised Nutrition in Survivors of Critical Illness

Research question Is it feasible and acceptable to undertake a randomised controlled trial evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an individualised physiotherapy and nutrition support intervention, delivered on the ward following ICU discharge, in adult survivors of critical illness?

Background Each year in the UK, 140,000 patients are discharged from intensive care units (ICU) to general hospital wards, almost all with complex rehabilitation needs. Eighty-four percent of patients still require nutritional support and 98% are not physically independent. Despite this, many are discharged from ICU without a nutrition plan and failure to recognise malnutrition is common. Consequently, malnutrition persists in the ward environment, leading to poor outcomes in itself, and additionally acts as a barrier to successful physical rehabilitation. This transition from intensive care to the ward represents a key stage in the recovery journey, and a window for optimising physical independence prior to hospital discharge, decreasing the need for support in the community. However, uncertainty as to how best to provide ongoing rehabilitation combining adequate nutrition and exercise on the general ward has driven widespread variation in practice.

The investigators have previously shown the benefits of delivering a structured rehabilitation strategy in the ICU. However, the ward environment poses different challenges to the development of an integrated rehabilitation pathway. There is a need to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of structured rehabilitation strategies when delivered outside the ICU.

Aims To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of structured, individualised physiotherapy and nutritional support in ward-based patients following ICU discharge.

Objectives:

i. To assess acceptability of the intervention to users and providers ii. To assess feasibility of recruitment procedures for a future trial iii. To estimate recruitment, retention and measure completion rates

Methods PHOENIX is a two-centre, allocation-concealed, open-label, parallel group, randomised controlled feasibility trial with integrated qualitative evaluation of acceptability.

The investigators will recruit sixty adult survivors from intensive care units at two university hospitals, with ongoing physiotherapy and nutritional needs at ICU discharge. Participants will be randomised on a 1:1 basis to receive the structured rehabilitation intervention or standard care. The intervention comprises enhanced physiotherapy, delivered by a specialist critical care team, in combination with optimised nutrition guided by indirect calorimetry.

Primary feasibility outcomes are recruitment and retention rates, and intervention fidelity. Acceptability will be evaluated through semi structured interviews of participants and staff.

Inclusion criteria

• Adults (≥ 18 years) that received ≥ 4 days advanced respiratory support (defined as invasive or non-invasive ventilation) on ICU,
• Alive at ICU discharge
• On-going physiotherapy and dietetic rehabilitation needs identified by the PICUPS tool (Defined as patients who are unable to transfer from bed to chair independently AND not able to meet nutritional requirements independently).

Exclusion criteria

• Death expected within the next 72 hours,
• Poor pre-ICU admission mobility (inability to walk > 10 metres with or without an aid)
• mobilisation contraindicated (e.g., spinal injury),
• Contraindication to or inability to tolerate enteral nutrition,
• Significant brain injury and not recovered to a GCS of ≥ 14 by ICU discharge.