Trial reportCritical care (London, England)2016
Muscle mass, strength and functional outcomes in critically ill patients after cardiothoracic surgery: does neuromuscular electrical stimulation help? The Catastim 2 randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Critical care (London, England), 2016. 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 47 papers, 10 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.
Effects of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on Muscle Mass and Strength in Critically Ill Patients After Cardiothoracic Surgery. An Ultrasound-Based Randomized Controlled Trial
Amino Acid Effluent Loss During Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy: an Explorative Non-interventional Pilot Study
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 123 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence-based position paper on Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) professional practice for persons with sarcopenia. The European PRM position (UEMS PRM Section).European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Neuromuscular electrical stimulation for early rehabilitation in critically ill patients: a systematic review of applied protocols.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Reporting of nutritional screening, status, and intake in trials of nutritional and physical rehabilitation following critical illness: a systematic review.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of electrical stimulation in critical patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- The effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on hospitalised adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Age and ageing · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of neuromuscular electrical stimulation for thoracic and abdominal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
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- Therapeutic Potential of Electromyostimulation (EMS) in Critically Ill Patients-A Systematic Review.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled 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
- Safety of neuromuscular electrical stimulation among critically ill patients: systematic review.Revista Brasileira de terapia intensivaPooled it
- Resistance training and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate for functional recovery in critical illness: a multicenter 2 × 2 factorial randomized trial.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Trial
- Prehabilitation in Cardiovascular Surgery: The Effect of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (Randomized Clinical Trial).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
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- Differential contractile response of critically ill patients to neuromuscular electrical stimulation.Critical care (London, England) · 2019Trial
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- Theoretical and Scientific Underpinnings of Peripheral Muscle Electrostimulation in Cardiac Rehabilitation of the Elderly: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Methodological standards for body composition assessment-an expert-endorsed guide for research and clinical applications: bioimpedance, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, computerized tomography, and ultrasound methods.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Review
- Early Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and In-Bed Leg Cycling Preserve Quadriceps Femoris Muscle Thickness in Critically Ill Patients.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in critically ill patients after cardiothoracic surgery are unknown. The objectives were to investigate whether NMES prevents loss of muscle layer thickness (MLT) and strength and to observe the time variation of MLT and strength from preoperative day to hospital discharge.
methodsIn this randomized controlled trial, 54 critically ill patients were randomized into four strata based on the SAPS II score. Patients were blinded to the intervention. In the intervention group, quadriceps muscles were electrically stimulated bilaterally from the first postoperative day until ICU discharge for a maximum of 14 days. In the control group, the electrodes were applied, but no electricity was delivered. The primary outcomes were MLT measured by ultrasonography and muscle strength evaluated with the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale. The secondary functional outcomes were average mobility level, FIM score, Timed Up and Go Test and SF-12 health survey. Additional variables of interest were grip strength and the relation between fluid balance and MLT. Linear mixed models were used to assess the effect of NMES on MLT, MRC score and grip strength.
resultsNMES had no significant effect on MLT. Patients in the NMES group regained muscle strength 4.5 times faster than patients in the control group. During the first three postoperative days, there was a positive correlation between change in MLT and cumulative fluid balance (r = 0.43, P = 0.01). At hospital discharge, all patients regained preoperative levels of muscle strength, but not of MLT. Patients did not regain their preoperative levels of average mobility (P = 0.04) and FIM score (P = 0.02) at hospital discharge, independent of group allocation.
conclusionsNMES had no effect on MLT, but was associated with a higher rate in regaining muscle strength during the ICU stay. Regression of intramuscular edema during the ICU stay interfered with measurement of changes in MLT. At hospital discharge patients had regained preoperative levels of muscle strength, but still showed residual functional disability and decreased MLT compared to pre-ICU levels in both groups.
trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02391103. Registered on 7 March 2015.
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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.