SynthesisPloS one2015
Effect of Early Rehabilitation during Intensive Care Unit Stay on Functional Status: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 70 papers, 12 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.
Implementation of an Early Mobilization Program in Cardiovascular Units
Examining the Effects of Virtual Reality on Early Vital Variables and Spillovers in Intensive Care Patients
Examination of the Effects of Kinesiology Tape Application for Respiratory Muscles on Early Functional Level and Respiratory Function in Intensive Care Unit Patients
Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 211 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of early mobilization in patients with ARDS: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in critically ill adults with mechanical ventilation: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Care intervention on psychological outcomes among patients admitted to intensive care unit: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Rehabilitation to enable recovery from COVID-19: a rapid systematic review.Physiotherapy · 2021Pooled it
- Systematic early versus late mobilization or standard early mobilization in mechanically ventilated adult ICU patients: systematic review and meta-analysis.Critical care (London, England) · 2021Pooled it
- [S3 Guideline Sepsis-prevention, diagnosis, therapy, and aftercare : Long version].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2020Guideline
- Early mobilization of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- Early rehabilitation to prevent postintensive care syndrome in patients with critical illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2018Pooled it
- Early intervention (mobilization or active exercise) for critically ill adults in the intensive care unit.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Determinants of Quality of Life and Return to Work Following Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2017Pooled it
- The effects of active mobilisation and rehabilitation in ICU on mortality and function: a systematic review.Intensive care medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Characterizing usual-care physical rehabilitation in Canadian intensive care unit patients: a secondary analysis of the Canadian multicentre Critical Care Cycling to Improve Lower Extremity Strength pilot randomized controlled trial.Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie · 2024Trial
- 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
- Trial
- Prognostic value of day 10 mobilization status for ambulation at hospital discharge in critically ill patients: a historical cohort study in Japan.Acute and critical care · 2026Article
- The Association Between Kinesiophobia and Level of Mobilization in Patients After Open-Heart Surgery.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Interdisciplinary collaboration in neurocritical care management.Acute and critical care · 2026Article
- [Occupational options in outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation].Unfallchirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Association Between Time to First Mobilization and Recovery of Oral Intake Function in Patients with Pneumonia: A Two-Center Retrospective Cohort Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimCritically ill survivors may have functional impairments even five years after hospital discharge. To date there are four systematic reviews suggesting a beneficial impact for mobilisation in mechanically ventilated and intensive care unit (ICU) patients, however there is limited information about the influence of timing, frequency and duration of sessions. Earlier mobilisation during ICU stay may lead to greater benefits. This study aims to determine the effect of early rehabilitation for functional status in ICU/high-dependency unit (HDU) patients.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINALH, PEDro, Cochrane Library, AMED, ISI web of science, Scielo, LILACS and several clinical trial registries were searched for randomised and non-randomised clinical trials of rehabilitation compared to usual care in adult patients admitted to an ICU/HDU. Results were screened by two independent reviewers. Primary outcome was functional status. Secondary outcomes were walking ability, muscle strength, quality of life, and healthcare utilisation. Data extraction and methodological quality assessment using the PEDro scale was performed by primary reviewer and checked by two other reviewers. The authors of relevant studies were contacted to obtain missing data.
results5733 records were screened. Seven articles were included in the narrative synthesis and six in the meta-analysis. Early rehabilitation had no significant effect on functional status, muscle strength, quality of life, or healthcare utilisation. However, early rehabilitation led to significantly more patients walking without assistance at hospital discharge (risk ratio 1.42; 95% CI 1.17-1.72). There was a non-significant effect favouring intervention for walking distance and incidence of ICU-acquired weakness.
conclusionsEarly rehabilitation during ICU stay was not associated with improvements in functional status, muscle strength, quality of life or healthcare utilisation outcomes, although it seems to improve walking ability compared to usual care. Results from ongoing studies may provide more data on the potential benefits of early rehabilitation in critically ill patients.
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.