The Tele-Rehab MV Cluster Stepped-Wedge Randomized Clinical Trial

Acute respiratory failure requiring invasive mechanical ventilation is associated with significant mortality rates. Furthermore, survivors often develop new physical, mental, and cognitive disabilities, as well as worsening clinical conditions, which can significantly impair their health-related quality of life. COVID-19 remains a notable cause of acute respiratory failure and long-term disabilities,6 with the added potential to cause persistent symptoms regardless of the infection's initial severity. Although the incidence of SARS-CoV-2-related respiratory failure has declined with the widespread adoption of vaccination, it persists as an endemic cause of pneumonia, particularly among patients with significant comorbidities, and is often part of the differential diagnosis in severe cases of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. While bundles of interventions including analgesia optimization, sedation minimization, early mobilization, and delirium prevention, as well as screening for individuals at risk of new disabilities for early rehabilitation have been recommended to prevent disabilities in critical care patients, no large randomized clinical trial has yet demonstrated a significant impact on long-term health-related quality of life. Additionally, the burden of disability following critical illness is often associated with patients' inability to attend clinic-based follow-up, and telemedicine may serve as a tool to reduce healthcare inequalities. Accordingly, the primary objective of this cluster stepped-wedge randomized clinical trial is to assess the impact of a multicomponent telemedicine-based intervention on the health-related quality of life of patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, evaluated 90 days after hospital discharge.

Inclusion criteria

• Aged ≥18 years
• Admission to the ICU with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure in whom SARS-CoV-2 infection is part of the differential diagnosis will be enrolled. This does not imply that COVID-19 is the primary suspected cause, but rather that it is considered at least a possible (though not necessarily probable) diagnosis at the time of ICU admission.
• Need for invasive mechanical ventilation.

Exclusion criteria

• Severe underlying disease with a life expectancy of less than 3 months;
• Absence of a responsible family member for cases of patients with communication difficulties (aphasia, severe cognitive impairment, non-native speakers of Portuguese);
• Absence of telephone contact;
• Participants already included in the study;
• Unavailability to carry out telephone follow-ups.