Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the effect of standardized early physical activity in patients with extra-ventricular drainage of Severe Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH). Methods: Following consecutive sampling, thirty patients admitted to the ICU between January and June, 2019 were selected as the experimental group in which standardized early physical activities were implemented among enrolled patients. Thirty patients who were admitted to the ICU with severe SAH and extraventricular drainage between July and December, 2018 were selected as the control group in which routine care was followed. Patients' clinical outcomes such as the length of mechanical ventilation, drainage time, days of ICU and hospital stay, as well as related complications were compared between groups. Results: Patient's heart rate increased gradually before and after implementation of physical exercise (P<0.05). The length of mechanical ventilation [(8.50±7.58) vs (13.57±8.51)], extra-ventricular drainage time [(5.77±3.48) vs (9.00±5.60)], the days of ICU stay [(14.23±10.87) vs (20.47±10.83)] and the overall hospital stay [(14.90±10.67) vs (23.23±11.49)] among patients in the experimental group were significantly shortened compared to those in the control group (P<0.05). In addition, the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (13.3% vs 36.7%) and deep venous thrombosis (16.7% vs 40.0%) were significantly reduced among patients in the experimental group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Standardization of early physical activity implementation can promote patients' recovery from severe SAH, reduce risks for developing related complications, and encourage early recovery.

Key words: standardization; early physical activity; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage; extra-ventricular drainage