LAUSR

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. BACKGROUND Prolonged immobility has detrimental consequences for critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Previous work has shown that early mobilization of ICU patients is a safe, feasible and effective strategy to improve outcomes; however, few of these studies focused on trauma ICU patients. Our objective was to assess the impact of implementing an ICU early mobilization protocol (EMP) on trauma outcomes. METHODS We conducted a retrospective pre-post study of adult trauma patients (>18 years old) admitted to ICU at a Level I trauma center over a 2-year period prior to and following EMP implementation, allowing for a 1-year transition period. Data were collected from the Nova Scotia Trauma Registry. We compared outcomes (mortality, length of stay [LOS], ventilator-free days) between patients admitted during pre-EMP and post-EMP periods, and assessed for factors associated with outcomes using binary logistic regression and generalized linear models. RESULTS Overall, 526 patients were included in the analysis (292 pre-EMP, 234 post-EMP). Ages ranged from 18 years to 92 years (mean, 49.0 ± 20.4 years) and 74.3% were men. The post-EMP group had lower ICU mortality (21.6% vs. 12.8%; p = 0.009) and in-hospital mortality (25.3% vs. 17.5%; p = 0.031). After controlling for confounders, patients in the post-EMP group were less likely to die in the ICU (odds ratio, 0.43; 95% confidence interval, 0.24–0.79; p = 0.006) or in-hospital (odds ratio, 0.55; 95% confidence interval; 0.32–0.94; p = 0.03). In-hospital LOS, ICU LOS, ICU-free days, and number of ventilator-free days were similar between the two groups. CONCLUSION Trauma patients admitted to ICU during the post-EMP period had decreased odds of ICU mortality and in-hospital mortality. This is the first study to demonstrate a significant reduction in trauma mortality following implementation of an ICU mobility protocol. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, level III.