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PICU Up!: A Pilot Stepped-wedge Trial of a Multicomponent Early Mobility Intervention for Critically Ill Children

PICU Up!:A Pilot Stepped-wedge Trial of a Multicomponent Early Mobility Intervention for Critically Ill Children

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03860168
Acronym
PICU Up!
Enrollment
2500
Registered
2019-03-01
Start date
2019-04-01
Completion date
2026-10-31
Last updated
2026-05-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Critical Illness

Keywords

sleep, sedation, early mobilization, acute rehabilitation, delirium

Brief summary

Recent decreases in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) mortality rates have been offset by increased morbidity and length of stay for vulnerable young patients. Heavy sedation, bedrest, and delirium contribute to a PICU culture of immobility. While studies in adult ICU patients demonstrate the clinical benefits of early mobilization, fewer than 25% of critically ill children mobilize early in the children's PICU stay. The investigators have demonstrated the safety and feasibility of the 'PICU Up!' Mobility Program, which integrates sleep promotion, delirium prevention, sedation optimization as a bundle to increase mobilization. However, the generalizability and broader impact on patient- and family-centered outcomes is unknown. Therefore, there is an urgent need for trials that blend both clinical effectiveness and implementation research to create a PICU culture of mobility and improve the value of PICU care. The overall objective of the proposed research is to determine the impact of a transdisciplinary and multifaceted early mobility program on clinical outcomes and ICU-acquired morbidities in critically ill children. Additionally, the investigators will identify barriers and facilitators to high-performance bundle adoption.

Interventions

The PICU Up! intervention is a multifaceted mobility program incorporating the ABCDEF bundle components into routine PICU care through multidisciplinary staff education and a structured pathway to determine a patient's daily mobility goal. PICU Up! was developed by a collaborative multidisciplinary team approach, and the central components include the consultation and involvement of physical therapy/occupational therapy (PT/OT) by PICU Day 3, sleep hygiene promotion and routine delirium screening for all PICU patients utilizing a validated tool.

Sponsors

Johns Hopkins University
Lead SponsorOTHER
Donaghue Medical Research Foundation
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

The study will be conducted using a pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial (RCT) design, with each PICU acting as one cluster. In a traditional stepped-wedge (TSW) design, all clusters begin in the control group and then transition to the intervention group at sequential and randomly assigned periods, facilitating the delivery of a desired intervention to all clusters, in this case, all participating PICUs.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
0 Years to 24 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

for Participating Units: * Participating PICUs must be a separate physical space dedicated to the care of critically ill infants and children, with the ability to provide mechanical ventilation. * Not implemented a PICU mobility protocol and would commit to not implementing a mobility protocol until the randomized time of unit implementation. Inclusion Criteria for Patients: All patients admitted to the PICUs regardless of length of stay will receive the unit-based PICU Up! intervention, which includes criteria for no mobilization based on specific clinical factors (i.e. open chest, surgeon request).10 For inclusion in data analysis, patients will be eligible if * Admitted to the participating PICU ≥ 3 days.

Exclusion criteria

for Patients: * Patients with an active do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order will be excluded.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Duration of mechanical ventilation (days)28 daysDefined as the number of days of mechanical ventilation through an endotracheal tube during the first 28 days of PICU admission.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
PICU length of stay (days)28 days
Hospital length of stay (days)28 days
Proportion of patients receiving out-of-bed mobility before PICU Day 2828 days
Number of patients discharged directly to home from the PICU28 days
Number of patients discharged from the hospital to a place other than home28 daysNumber of patients discharged from the hospital to a place other than home (rehabilitation facility) if previous residence was home
Incidence of venous thromboembolism28 days
Incidence of pressure injury28 days
Cumulative exposure to opioids (mg/kg) through PICU Day 2828 days
Cumulative exposure to benzodiazepines (mg/kg) through PICU Day 2828 days

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSapna R Kudchadkar, MD, PhD

Johns Hopkins University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 29, 2026