Published 16 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3921
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3921

Editorials

Rehabilitation in patients admitted to intensive care

Needs to start before discharge and extend beyond physical outcomes

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The number of patients who survive after a stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) is rising.¹ After leaving the ICU they continue to experience the effects of their primary illness and of interventions they received, and they have higher mortality rates and longer physical and psychological recovery times than the general healthy population.² Only 49% of patients treated in the ICU for acute respiratory distress syndrome return to work a year after leaving hospital.² Family members also experience psychological disturbances.³ Thus, these patients represent a financial and social burden that extends beyond their initial illness.

Little research has been published about long term management in these patients: one randomised controlled trial,⁴ a clinical summary,⁵ and a few protocols. The trial’s results suggested that rehabilitation started after discharge from the ICU could improve physical state at six months.⁴

In the linked study (doi:10.1136/bmj.b3723) Cuthbertson and colleagues report a . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ SARAH Rehabilitation Hospital Network, Sarah, Brasília, Brazil

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