Efficacy of Early Enhanced Occupational Therapy in an Intensive Care Unit (EFFORT–ICU): A Single-Site Feasibility Trial

Abstract Importance: This research trial contributes to the evidence for occupational therapy service delivery in intensive care settings. Objective: To explore the feasibility of a trial to evaluate the impact of early enhanced occupational therapy on mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care. Design: Single-site assessor-blinded randomized controlled feasibility trial. Setting: Level 5 8-bed adult medical–surgical intensive care unit (ICU) at Logan Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. Participants: Participants were 30 mechanically ventilated patients randomly allocated to two groups. Outcomes and Measures: We compared standard care with enhanced occupational therapy with outcomes measured at discharge from the ICU, hospital discharge, and 90 days post randomization. The primary outcome measure was the FIM®. Secondary outcomes included the Modified Barthel Index (MBI); Montreal Cognitive Assessment; grip strength, measured using a dynamometer; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (Version 2). The intervention group received daily occupational therapy, including cognitive stimulation, upper limb retraining, and activities of daily living. Data were analyzed using independent groups t tests and effect sizes. Results: Measures and procedures were feasible. A significant difference was found between groups on FIM Motor score at 90 days with a large effect size (p = .05, d = 0.76), and MBI scores for the intervention group approached significance (p = .051) with a large effect size (d = 0.75) at 90 days. Further moderate to large effect sizes were obtained for the intervention group for cognitive status, functional ability, and quality of life. Conclusions and Relevance: This trial demonstrated that occupational therapy is feasible and beneficial in the ICU. Criteria to progress to a full-scale randomized controlled trial were met. This study contributes to embedding ongoing consistency of practice and scope of service delivery for occupational therapy in this field. What This Article Adds: Occupational therapists should be considered core team members in the critical care–ICU, with funding to support ongoing service provision and optimization of patient outcomes based on effective and feasible service delivery.