Background: The incidence of stroke is increasing year by year, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients in the later period. At present, there is no clear evidence-based medical support for very early mobilization (VEM). Therefore, this study aims to systematically evaluate the effect of VEM intervention on patients with acute stroke in order to further understand the application value of VEM.
Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, and other databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the VEM of patients with acute stroke. The articles were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data was extracted and the quality of the studies was evaluated. Revman 5.3 software was used to analyze the impact of VEM on adverse events after stroke, the disability rate, bed-related complications, length of hospital stay, and ability of daily living.
Results: After screening, 8 studies reported on the efficacy of VEM intervention for stroke patients. After analysis, VEM had no significant relationship with adverse events [relative risk (RR): 1.18; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.94-1.47], disability rates (RR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.95-1.15), and bed-related complications (RR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.66-1.06). VEM was related to length of hospital stay [mean difference (MD): -1.72; 95% CI: -2.63 to -0.81] and ability of daily living (MD: 4.97; 95% CI: 0.15-9.79).
Discussion: VEM can shorten the hospital stay and improve the activities of daily living of patients. Additionally, it will not increase the adverse events, bed-related complications, and disability rates of acute stroke patients, suggesting that VEM is safe and effective.
Keywords: Very early mobilization (VEM); acute stroke; recovery; rehabilitation.