Long-Term Prognosis Following Early Rehabilitation in the ICU: A Retrospective Cohort Study

OBJECTIVES: Critically ill patients often have residual functional disabilities. Studies have shown that early rehabilitation improves short-term physical function. However, it remains unknown whether early rehabilitation affects long-term prognosis and healthcare resource utilization. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: This study used an administrative claims database in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, from April 2012 to February 2017. PATIENTS: We identified patients who were admitted to the ICU and received rehabilitation. Eligible patients were divided into those who underwent rehabilitation within 3 days (early rehabilitation group) and after 4 or more days of ICU admission (delayed rehabilitation group). Propensity score matching analyses were conducted to compare the number of outpatient consultations within 1 year and 3 years after discharge from the index hospitalization, total duration of hospitalization after discharge, healthcare costs, and survival. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 6,679 patients were included in the study. Propensity score matching created 2,245 pairs. No difference was observed in the number of outpatient consultations 1 year after discharge, although there were differences between the groups 3 years after discharge. Long-term observation revealed a shorter overall duration of hospitalization (1.9 vs 2.6 mo; p < 0.001) and lower total costs ($28,159 vs $38,272; p < 0.001), as well as lower average costs per month ($1,690 vs $1,959; p = 0.001) in the early compared with the delayed rehabilitation group. No differences in survival were observed (log-rank test; p = 0.18). CONCLUSIONS: Starting rehabilitation within 3 days of ICU admission was associated with shorter durations of future hospitalization and lower healthcare costs. Early rehabilitation for ICU patients might be associated with reduced healthcare resource utilization.