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TerminatedNCT01866735Updated May 31, 2018

Early Mobility for the Critically Injured Burn Patient

An interventional study of Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy in Critically Injured Burn Patients, sponsored by Wake Forest University. Terminated at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-05-31.

Sponsored by Wake Forest University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Why this study was terminated
Results from trial in another population lead investigators to determine study outcome may not reach statistical significance.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
12
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

This study will demonstrate that Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy for burn patients with ARF reduces hospital stay through immediate improvement in functional capacity and functional performance. Our team comprises Burn Surgeons, Intensivists with expertise in Critical Care Trial design, Exercise Physiologists and Outpatient Functional Outcome Assessment Experts. The design was conceived through the US-Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group which allowed these investigators to bring varied expertise to the problems faced by critically ill Burn patients.

Hypotheses:1) Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy (SRT) will shorten hospital stay in burn patients with ARF. 2) SRT will prevent loss in muscle size and loss of architecture during critical illness of severe burns. 3) SRT will improve objective functional measures and quality of life at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months post-enrollment.

Read the detailed description

Background: Burn injury requiring mechanical ventilation affects a high proportion of the 25,000 patients admitted to US Burn Centers every year. Patients with a burn injury and acute respiratory failure (ARF) experience deconditioning, muscle weakness, joint contractures, dyspnea, depression, and reduced health-related quality of life. Delivery of rehabilitative therapy (physical therapy) within the Burn Intensive Care Unit (BICU) for burn patients requiring mechanical ventilation is not uniform in its content, timing, or the acceptance of its safety. Our published data indicate that Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy, initiated in the ICU, is feasible and safe for Medical ICU patients. Data have shown reductions in hospital stay, and improvements in functional outcomes. Mechanistically, it is understood that patients with burns and concomitant ARF exhibit acute alterations of metabolism, with the resultant loss of muscle strength. This study will demonstrate that Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy for burn patients with ARF reduces hospital stay through immediate improvement in functional capacity and functional performance. Our team comprises Burn Surgeons, Intensivists with expertise in Critical Care Trial design, Exercise Physiologists and Outpatient Functional Outcome Assessment Experts. The design was conceived through the US-Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group which allowed these investigators to bring varied expertise to the problems faced by critically ill Burn patients.

Objective/Hypotheses: 1) Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy (SRT) will shorten hospital stay in burn patients with ARF. 2) SRT will prevent loss in muscle size and loss of architecture during critical illness of severe burns. 3) SRT will improve objective functional measures and quality of life at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months post-enrollment. Specific Aims: Aim 1: To determine whether standardized rehabilitation therapy for BICU patients requiring mechanical ventilation will decrease hospital length of stay. Aim 2: To determine by serial ultrasound and strength assessments whether standardized rehabilitation therapy decreases loss of biceps and quadriceps size, architecture and strength during critical illness of the severe burn patient. Aim 3: To determine whether standardized rehabilitation therapy will improve functional capacity and performance, and quality of life.

Study Design: The investigators will conduct a two arm trial with stratified randomization in 150 burn patients with concomitant ARF to compare SRT, initiated while on mechanical ventilation in the ICU and administered throughout the hospitalization, vs. Usual Care (control). Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy will consist of: passive range of motion, physical therapy, and progressive resistance exercise (strength training). Our unique approach will provide an experienced Mobility Team (7days/week) consisting of a critical care nurse, physical therapist, and nursing assistant to administer this protocol at 3 University Hospital sites. The proposed study is a natural extension of our prior work, is multidisciplinary, is supported by extensive preliminary studies, and is innovative in its application of strength training techniques and in-hospital strength assessments.

Relevance: Burn patients with ARF suffer for months after hospital discharge with weakness and decreased quality of life. This study will provide the information to prioritize and budget for the rehabilitation needs of burn patients with ARF by demonstrating that Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy, initiated in the ICU, reduces hospital length of stay with immediate and sustained improvement in function and quality of life for burn patients with ARF. Given that military burn patients and civilian burn patients utilize similar resources and experience similar outcomes, the results of this study will be immediately transferable to the military burn patient with concomitant ARF resulting in improved outcomes.

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Conditions studied

  • Critically Injured Burn Patients

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03

In context

Burns

719 studies on the registry are indexed under Burns; 145 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 12 is below the median of 40 across 524 interventional studies indexed under Burns.

Browse Burns studies →

Lead sponsor

Wake Forest University is the lead sponsor of 116 studies on the registry; 7 are open to participants now.

Of its 31 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 27 (87%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18 years or older
  • Mechanically ventilated via an endotracheal tube or mask (via tracheostomy is acceptable if performed emergently due to burn injury)
  • Burn injury requiring ICU admission

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to walk without assistance prior to burn injury (use of a cane or walkers not exclusions)
  • Cognitive impairment prior to burn injury (non-verbal)
  • Acute Stroke
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) >50
  • Neuromuscular disease that could impair ventilator weaning (myasthenia gravis, ALS, Gillian-Barre)
  • Hospitalization within 30 days prior to burn injury
  • Re-admission to ICU/BICU within current hospitalization
  • Expected hospitalization length of stay \< 3 days
  • Hip fracture, unstable cervical spine or pathological fracture
  • Mechanically ventilated >80 hours prior to study enrollment
  • Current hospitalization or transferring hospital stay >7days prior to study enrollment
  • DNR/DNI on admission
  • Ineligible cancer treatment within the last 6 months
  • Investigator judgment/determination that patient is unable to participate in intervention (SRT)
  • Moribund
  • Participation in treatment arm of another research study within the past 30 days/or at any time during the treatment phase of this study
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
12 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Usual Care
  • Experimental
    Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy

    Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy (SRT): Participants randomized to the Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy arm will receive three types of interventions - Passive Range of Motion (PROM), Physical Therapy (PT) and Progressive Resistance Exercise (PRE). The SRT protocol will be administered by the BICU Mobility Team within 80 hours of ventilation and contains four levels of activity therapy. This Protocol will be delivered 7 days a week. Patients will be assessed daily and if appropriate will receive 3 separate sessions of activity each day.

    Other: Standardized Rehabilitation Therapy

Interventions

  • OtherStandardized Rehabilitation Therapy
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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Hospital length of stay

    Time frame: From date of randomization through 36 months post-study enrollment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Functional Status & Health Related Quality of Life

    Time frame: ICU/Hospital Discharge, 3, 6 & 12 months post enrollment

07

Study locations

3 sites
  • Washington University
    Saint Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
  • University of North Carolina, Chapel-Hill
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
  • Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
    Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, United States
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 31, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01866735
Lead sponsor
Wake Forest University
Collaborators
United States Department of Defense, Washington University School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 31, 2013
Start date
May 2013
Primary completion
Mar 1, 2015
Completion
Mar 1, 2015
Last update
May 31, 2018

Study contacts

Peter E Morris, MD
principal investigator · University of Kentucky
James Holmes, MD
principal investigator · Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is terminated, as verified in May 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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