Early sitting in ischemic stroke patients (SEVEL): a randomized controlled trial

Background: Extended immobility has been associated with medical complications during hospitalization. However no clear recommendations are available for mobilization of ischemic stroke patients. Objective: As early mobilization has been shown to be feasible and safe, we tested the hypothesis that early sitting could be beneficial to stroke patient outcome. Methods: This prospective multicenter study tested two sitting procedures at the acute phase of ischemic stroke, in a randomized controlled fashion (clinicaltrials.org registration number NCT01573299). Patients were eligible if they were above 18 years of age and showed no sign of massive infarction or any contra-indication for sitting. In the early-sitting group, patients were seated out of bed at the earliest possible time but no later than one calendar day after stroke onset, whereas the progressively-sitting group was first seated out of bed on the third calendar day after stroke onset. Primary outcome measure was the proportion ...