SynthesisCritical care medicine2013
Electrical muscle stimulation in the intensive care setting: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Critical care medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 33 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Functional Electrical Stimulation Assisted Cycling (eStimCycle):A Novel Intervention to Improve Outcomes in the Critically Ill
Effect of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation With and Without Electrical Muscle Stimulation on Spasticity, Gait and Lower Limb Functions of Chronic Stroke Patients.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 83 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rehabilitation to enable recovery from COVID-19: a rapid systematic review.Physiotherapy · 2021Pooled it
- Exercise rehabilitation following intensive care unit discharge for recovery from critical illness: executive summary of a Cochrane Collaboration systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2016Pooled it
- Exercise rehabilitation following intensive care unit discharge for recovery from critical illness.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Effect of Early Rehabilitation during Intensive Care Unit Stay on Functional Status: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- Functional Magnetic Neuromuscular Stimulation vs. Routine Physiotherapy in the Critically Ill for Prevention of ICU Acquired Muscle Loss: A Randomised Controlled Trial.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Trial
- Precision implementation of early ambulation in elderly patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a randomized-controlled clinical trial.BMC geriatrics · 2020Trial
- Comparison of exercise intensity during four early rehabilitation techniques in sedated and ventilated patients in ICU: a randomised cross-over trial.Critical care (London, England) · 2018Trial
- ICEAGE (Incidence of Complications following Emergency Abdominal surgery: Get Exercising): study protocol of a pragmatic, multicentre, randomised controlled trial testing physiotherapy for the prevention of complications and improved physical recovery after emergency abdominal surgery.World journal of emergency surgery : WJES · 2018Trial
- Early physical rehabilitation in intensive care patients with sepsis syndromes: a pilot randomised controlled trial.Intensive care medicine · 2015Trial
- Neuromuscular electrical stimulation in mechanically ventilated patients: a randomized, sham-controlled pilot trial with blinded outcome assessment.Journal of critical care · 2015Trial
- A Novel Noninvasive Method for Measuring Fatigability of the Quadriceps Muscle in Noncooperating Healthy Subjects.BioMed research international · 2015Trial
- Moderate electrical muscle stimulation during voluntary movement does not disrupt the sense of agency or ownership.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Continuous passive motion for prevention of ankle contracture and muscle loss in mechanically ventilated ICU patients.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of massage and range of motion exercises on muscle strength and intensive care unit-acquired weakness in Iranian patients with COVID-19: a randomized parallel-controlled trial.Acute and critical care · 2024Article
- Direct electrical stimulation impacts on neuromuscular junction morphology on both stimulated and unstimulated contralateral soleus.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2023Article
- Attenuating Muscle Mass Loss in Critical Illness: the Role of Nutrition and Exercise.Current osteoporosis reports · 2022Review
- Electrical stimulated GLUT4 signalling attenuates critical illness-associated muscle wasting.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Article
- Modalities of Exercise Training in Patients with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2022Review
- Influence of sarcopenia focused on critically ill patients.Acute and critical care · 2021Article
- Early Mobilization Interventions in the Intensive Care Unit: Ongoing and Unpublished Randomized Trials.Critical care research and practice · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextThe role of electrical muscle stimulation in intensive care has not previously been systematically reviewed.
objectivesTo identify, evaluate, and synthesize the evidence examining the effectiveness and the safety of electrical muscle stimulation in the intensive care, and the optimal intervention variables. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review of articles using eight electronic databases (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Excerpta Medica Database, Expanded Academic ASAP, MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, PubMed, and Scopus) personal files were searched, and cross-referencing was undertaken. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Quantitative studies published in English, assessing electrical muscle stimulation in intensive care, were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND DATA SYNTHESIS: One reviewer extracted data using a standardized form, which were cross-checked by a second reviewer. Quality appraisal was undertaken by two independent reviewers using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database and Newcastle-Ottawa scales, and the National Health and Medical Research Council Hierarchy of Evidence Scale. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines were followed.
resultsNine studies on six individual patient groups of 136 participants were included. Eight were randomized controlled trials, with four studies reporting on the same cohort of participants. Electrical muscle stimulation appears to preserve muscle mass and strength in long-stay participants and in those with less acuity. No such benefits were observed when commenced prior to 7 days or in patients with high acuity. One adverse event was reported. Optimal training variables and safety of the intervention require further investigation.
conclusionsElectrical muscle stimulation is a promising intervention; however, there is conflicting evidence for its effectiveness when administered acutely. Outcomes measured are heterogeneous with small sample sizes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.