Physiotherapy in the intensive care unit

Physiotherapists are involved in the management of patients with critical illness. Physiotherapy assessment is focused on physical deconditioning and related problems (muscle weakness, joint stiffness, impaired functional exercise capacity, physical inactivity) and respiratory conditions (retained airway secretions, atelectasis and respiratory muscle weakness) to identify targets for physiotherapy. Evidence-based targets for physiotherapy are deconditioning, impaired airway clearance, atelectasis, (re-)intubation avoidance and weaning failure. Early physical activity and mobilisation are essential in the prevention, attenuation or reversion of physical deconditioning related to critical illness. A variety of modalities for exercise training and early mobility are evidence-based and must be implemented depending on the stage of critical illness, co-morbid conditions and cooperation of the patient. The physiotherapist should be responsible for implementing mobilization plans and exercise prescription and make recommendations for progression of these plans, jointly with medical and nursing staff.status: publishe

Can inspiratory muscle training improve weaning outcomes in difficult to wean patients? A protocol for a randomised controlled trial (IMweanT study)

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory muscle dysfunction has been associated with failure to wean from mechanical ventilation. It has therefore been hypothesised that these patients might benefit from inspiratory muscle training (IMT). Evidence, however, is thus far limited to data from small, single-centre studies with heterogeneity in inclusion criteria, training modalities and outcomes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of a novel IMT method on weaning outcomes in selected patients with weaning difficulties. METHODS: This study is designed as a double-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled superiority trial with 1:1 allocation ratio. Patients with weaning difficulties will be randomly allocated into either an IMT group (intervention) or a sham-IMT group (control). Ninetypatients (45 in each group) will be needed to detect a 28% difference in the proportion of weaning success between groups (estimated difference in primary outcome based on previous studies) with a risk for type I error (α) of 5% and statistical power (1-β) of 80%. Patients will perform four sets of 6-10 breaths daily against an external load using a tapered flow resistive loading device (POWERbreathe KH2, HaB International, UK). Training intensity in the intervention group will be adjusted to the highest tolerable load. The control group will train against a low resistance that will not be modified during the training period. Training will becontinued until patients are successfully weaned or for a maximum duration of 28 days. Pulmonary and respiratory muscle function, weaning duration, duration of mechanical ventilation, ventilator-free days and length of stay in the intensive care unit will be evaluated as secondary outcomes. Χ2 tests and analysis of covariance with adjustments for baseline values of respective outcomesas covariates will be used to compare results after the intervention period between groups. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval was obtained from the local ethical committee (Ethische Commissie Onderzoek UZ/KU Leuven protocol ID: S60516). Results from this randomised controlled trial will be presented at scientific meetings as abstracts for poster or oral presentations and published in peerreviewed journals. TRIAL STATUS: Enrolment into the study have started in August 2017. Data collection and data analysis are expected to be completed in September 2021. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03240263.status: publishe

Interobserver agreement of medical research council sum-score and handgrip strength in the intensive care unit

Introduction: Muscle weakness often complicates critical illness and is associated with devastating short- and long-term consequences. For interventional studies, reliable measurements of muscle force in the intensive care unit (ICU) are needed. Methods: To examine interobserver agreement, two observers independently measured Medical Research Council (MRC) sum-score (n = 75) and handgrip strength (n = 46) in a cross-sectional ICU sample. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for MRC sum-score was 0.95 (0.92-0.97). The kappa coefficient for identifying "significant weakness" (MRC sum-score <48, MRC subtotal upper limbs <24) and "severe weakness" (MRC sum-score <36) was 0.68 ± 0.09, 0.88 ± 0.07, and 0.93 ± 0.07, respectively. The ICC for left and right handgrip strength was 0.97 (0.94-0.98) and 0.93 (0.86-0.97), respectively. Conclusions: Interobserver agreement on MRC sum-score and handgrip strength in the ICU was very good. Agreement on "severe weakness" (MRC sum-score <36) was excellent and supports its use in interventional studies. Agreement on "significant weakness" (MRC sum-score <48) was good, but even better using the equivalent cut-off in the upper limbs. It remains to be determined whether this may serve as a substitute. Muscle Nerve 45: 18-25, 2012.status: publishe

Predictive value for weakness and 1-year mortality of screening electrophysiology tests in the ICU

PURPOSE: Muscle weakness in long-stay ICU patients contributes to 1-year mortality. Whether electrophysiological screening is an alternative diagnostic tool in unconscious/uncooperative patients remains unknown. We aimed to determine the diagnostic properties of abnormal compound muscle action potential (CMAP), sensory nerve action potential (SNAP), and spontaneous electrical activity (SEA) for Medical Research Council (MRC)-defined weakness and their predictive value for 1-year mortality. METHODS: Data were prospectively collected during the EPaNIC trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00512122). First, sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) of abnormal CMAP, SNAP, and SEA for weakness were determined. Subsequently, association between 1-year mortality and abnormal findings on electrophysiological screening was assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses correcting for weakness and other risk factors and the prediction model involved only a development phase. RESULTS: A total of 730 patients were electrophysiologically screened of whom 432 were tested for weakness. On day 8, normal CMAP excluded weakness with a high NPV (80.5 %). By day 15, abnormal SNAP and the presence of SEA had a high PPV (91.7 and 80.0 %, respectively). Only a reduced CMAP on day 8 was associated with higher 1-year mortality [35.6 vs 15.2 % (p < 0.001)]. This association remained significant after correction for weakness and other risk factors [OR 2.463 (95 % CI 1.113-5.452), p = 0.026]. Also among conscious/cooperative patients without weakness, reduced CMAP was independently associated with a higher likelihood of death occurring during 1 year [HR 2.818 (95 % CI 1.074-7.391), p = 0.035]. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic properties of electrophysiological screening vary over time. Abnormal CMAP documented early during critical illness carries information about longer-term outcome, which should be further investigated mechanistically.status: publishe

Early mobilization in clinical practice: the reliability and feasibility of the 'Start To Move' Protocol

PURPOSE: The properties of a local Intensive Care Unit early mobilization protocol ('Start To Move As Soon As Possible') in critically ill patients, consisting of an objective diagnostic assessment linked to six treatment levels were evaluated. This study aimed to investigate whether the protocol can be reliably applied by different health-care providers (reliability), to examine the associations between prescribed and delivered treatments (feasibility) and to explore safety and patient satisfaction with the protocol. METHODS: Cross-sectional observational study evaluating the reliability of the protocol between physiotherapist was evaluated with Cohen's kappa, percentage of agreement, and intraclass correlation coefficients in 61 patients. Feasibility was analyzed as agreement between prescribed and delivered treatments with Spearman's rank correlation coefficients in 60 patients. A satisfaction survey was used to evaluate patient satisfaction with the protocol. RESULTS: Excellent agreement was observed between physiotherapists for diagnostic level assignment (Kappa = 0.92), while the majority of the treatment proposals per level showed moderate to substantial agreement between the physiotherapists (Kappa range: 0.40-0.89). Three hundred and thirteen treatments were prescribed. Perfect agreement was observed between prescribed and delivered treatments in level 0 (Spearman's rho 1.00) and excellent associations for levels 1-5 (0.941, 0.995, 0.951, 0.998, and 0.999), respectively. Unwanted safety events rate was 3%. Most patients (92%) were very satisfied with physiotherapy. CONCLUSION: Excellent inter-rater agreement for diagnostic level assignment and moderate to substantial agreement for proposed treatments support the reliability of the protocol. Perfect to excellent associations between prescribed and delivered treatments supports its feasibility. Complications were rare, and most patients were very positive regarding the care provided by physiotherapists during their stay in the ICU.status: publishe

Effect of tolerating macronutrient deficit on the development of intensive-care unit acquired weakness: a subanalysis of the EPaNIC trial

BACKGROUND: Patients who are critically ill can develop so-called intensive-care unit acquired weakness, which delays rehabilitation. Reduced muscle mass, quality, or both might have a role. The Early Parenteral Nutrition Completing Enteral Nutrition in Adult Critically Ill Patients (EPaNIC) trial (registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00512122) showed that tolerating macronutrient deficit for 1 week in intensive-care units (late parenteral nutrition [PN]) accelerated recovery compared with early PN. The role of weakness was unclear. Our aim was to assess whether late PN and early PN differentially affect muscle weakness and autophagic quality control of myofibres. METHODS: In this prospectively planned subanalysis of the EPaNIC trial, weakness (MRC sum score) was assessed in 600 awake, cooperative patients. Skeletal muscle biopsies, harvested from 122 patients 8 days after randomisation and from 20 matched healthy controls, were studied for autophagy and atrophy. We determined the significance of differences with Mann-Whitney U, Median, Kruskal-Wallis, or χ(2) (exact) tests, as appropriate. FINDINGS: With late PN, 105 (34%) of 305 patients had weakness on first assessment (median day 9 post-randomisation) compared with 127 (43%) of 295 patients given early PN (absolute difference -9%, 95% CI -16 to -1; p=0·030). Weakness recovered faster with late PN than with early PN (p=0·021). Myofibre cross-sectional area was less and density was lower in critically ill patients than in healthy controls, similarly with early PN and late PN. The LC3 (microtubule-associated protein light chain 3) II to LC3I ratio, related to autophagosome formation, was higher in patients given late PN than early PN (p=0·026), reaching values almost double those in the healthy control group (p=0·0016), and coinciding with less ubiquitin staining (p=0·019). A higher LC3II to LC3I ratio was independently associated with less weakness (p=0·047). Expression of mRNA encoding contractile myofibrillary proteins was lower and E3-ligase expression higher in muscle biopsies from patients than in control participants (p≤0·0006), but was unaffected by nutrition. INTERPRETATION: Tolerating a substantial macronutrient deficit early during critical illness did not affect muscle wasting, but allowed more efficient activation of autophagic quality control of myofibres and reduced weakness. FUNDING: UZ Leuven, Research Foundation-Flanders, the Flemish Government, and the European Research Council.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Effect of tolerating macronutrient deficit on the development of intensive-care unit acquired weakness: a subanalysis of the EPaNIC trial journaltitle: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(13)70183-8 associatedlink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(13)70148-6 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe