Home Critical Care Rehab in ICU for Respiratory Failure Does Not Reduce LOS

Rehab in ICU for Respiratory Failure Does Not Reduce LOS

No significant effect for handgrip, handheld dynamometer strength, physical/mental health

FRIDAY, July 1, 2016 (HealthDay News) — For patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with acute respiratory failure, standardized rehabilitation therapy (SRT) does not decrease hospital length of stay (LOS) compared with usual care, according to a study published in the June 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Peter E. Morris, M.D., from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, and colleagues compared SRT with usual ICU care in adult patients with acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Patients were randomized to SRT or usual care (150 each) with six-month follow-up.

The researchers found that the median hospital LOS was 10 days in both the SRT and usual-care groups (P = 0.41). No difference was seen in the duration of ventilation or ICU care between the groups. At six months there was no significant effect for handgrip, handheld dynamometer strength, Short Form-36 (SF-36) physical and mental health scores, or mini mental state examination score. The SRT group had higher scores at six months for the Short Physical Performance Battery score, SF-36 physical function scale score, and the Functional Performance Inventory score.

“Among patients hospitalized with acute respiratory failure, SRT compared with usual care did not decrease hospital LOS,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Hill Rom Company.

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