Pulmonary rehabilitation in intensive care unit: a literature review

Abstract

The long period of immobility in intensive care units (ICU) may be harmful to patients' musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological systems. Pulmonary rehabilitation in ICU, particularly the physical training, aims to restore previous functionality prior to the event that determined the need for mechanical ventilation, thus reducing dependence, preventing new admissions, and improving patients' quality of life. However, resistance has been noticed among ICU staff to applying physical training. The purpose of this study was to perform a literature review on the implications of pulmonary rehabilitation programs in the ICU. Articles were sought for in PubMed, Cochane, PEDro and SciELO databases, by means of key words"pulmonary rehabilitation", "intensive care", and"intensive therapy", in addition to studies suggested by experts. Seven articles (randomised clinical trials, cohort, and retrospective studies) were assessed. All of them suggested benefits by pulmonary rehabilitation in the ICU, in addition to the absence of side effects. Main benefits were ambulation improvement, increase on strength of respiratory and skeletal muscles, plus improvement in activities of daily living. According to the studies analyzed, pulmonary rehabilitation in the ICU proves to be beneficial to patients, being a safe and well tolerated means of rehabilitation.