Initiating Mobilization Is Not Associated with Symptomatic Cerebral Vasospasm in Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Retrospective Multicenter Case-control Study.

Objective: The study aim was to investigate the association between initiating mobilization within 7 days after onset and symptomatic cerebral vasospasm (SCV) in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).

Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter case-control study in Japan. Patients with a diagnosis of aSAH who underwent physical therapy with/without occupational therapy were included and categorized into 2 groups according to the presence or absence of SCV. Initiating mobilization was defined as sitting on the bed edge (at least once, with/without assist, regardless of duration) within 7 days after aSAH onset. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between initiating mobilization within 7 days after onset and SCV.

Results: The analysis included 510 patients. Among all included patients, 57 (11.2%) patients had SCV. In the univariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, initiating of mobilization was not associated with SCV (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.45-1.32). In the multivariate analysis, only the modified Fisher scale was significantly associated with SCV (HR = 26.23; 95% CI = 1.21-571.0).

Conclusion: Initiating mobilization within 7 days after aSAH onset was not associated with SCV in patients with aSAH.