Multisensory and Cognitive Interventions in the ICU: Effects on Health and Recovery

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of sensory and cognitive stimulation interventions on physiological, psychological, and functional recovery in adult patients who have undergone cardiac surgery and are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Despite early mobilization protocols being widely adopted in ICU settings, the added value of non-pharmacological interventions such as auditory, tactile, olfactory, and cognitive stimulation has not been comprehensively studied in the context of intensive care recovery.

The study addresses the gap in clinical practice regarding multisensory deprivation in ICUs, which can lead to heightened anxiety, delayed functional recovery, and impaired hemodynamic regulation. Previous research has suggested that music therapy, aromatherapy, tactile stimulation, and cognitive exercises may provide benefit individually. However, comparative or combined effects of these modalities remain unexplored in a structured clinical design.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: control (standard ICU care), cognitive stimulation, auditory stimulation (music or nature sounds), and multisensory stimulation (lavender or mint aroma combined with tactile stimulation using hand therapy balls). Each intervention will be administered for 30 minutes during the sitting phase of early mobilization.

The primary outcome is improvement in functional independence measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Secondary outcomes include physiological parameters (heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate), psychological outcomes (anxiety level assessed by VAS, patient satisfaction), and functional capacity (ICU sitting tolerance, PFIT scores). Assessments will be conducted before, immediately after, and 15 minutes following the intervention to capture both immediate and delayed effects.

The findings of this study are expected to contribute to evidence-based rehabilitation strategies in critical care settings and offer low-cost, non-invasive interventions that can be easily integrated into standard ICU practice to enhance patient comfort and recovery.

• Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety Assessment [Срок оценки: Change in outcome measures from baseline (24 hours post-surgery, prior to intervention), to immediately after intervention (within 1 minute), and 15 minutes after intervention]
• Heart Rate [Срок оценки: Heart rate will be recorded at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the session, and 15 minutes post-intervention.]
• Blood Pressure [Срок оценки: Blood pressure will be recorded at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the session, and 15 minutes post-intervention.]
• Respiratory Rate [Срок оценки: Respiratory rate will be recorded at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the session, and 15 minutes post-intervention.]
• Oxygen Saturation [Срок оценки: SpO₂ values will be recorded at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the session, and 15 minutes post-intervention.]
• Patient Satisfaction Score [Срок оценки: Immediately after and 15 minutes after intervention]
• Physical Function in Intensive Care Test [Срок оценки: Change in outcome measures from baseline (24 hours post-surgery, prior to intervention) to immediately after intervention (within 1 minute)]
• Sitting Tolerance Time [Срок оценки: During the intervention session]