SynthesisRevista Brasileira de terapia intensiva
Safety of neuromuscular electrical stimulation among critically ill patients: systematic review.
Synthesis in Revista Brasileira de terapia intensiva. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07188350 (Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation of Lower Limbs in Patients Undergoing Invasive Mechanical Ventilation), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 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.
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation of Lower Limbs in Patients Undergoing Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: Randomized Clinical Trial
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Neuromuscular electrical stimulation for early rehabilitation in critically ill patients: a systematic review of applied protocols.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of neuromuscular electrostimulation in COPD subjects on mechanical ventilation. A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2022Pooled it
- Article
- Comparing the effects of 25-minute electrical muscle stimulation vs. 90-minute full-body resistance training on body composition and strength: A 20-week intervention.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2025Article
- Pilot Study to Assess the Ability of a 4-Week, Home-Based, Electrical Muscle Stimulation Program to Improve Lower Extremity Function and Reduce Sarcopenia in Older Individuals With Cancer.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2025Article
- Do Electrical Stimulation Devices Reduce Pain and Improve Function?-A Comparative Review.Pain and therapy · 2023Review
- Efficacy and safety of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in the prevention of pressure injuries in critically ill patients: a randomized controlled trial.Annals of intensive care · 2022Article
- Long-term effect of task-oriented functional electrical stimulation in chronic Guillain Barré syndrome-a single-subject study.Spinal cord series and cases · 2021Article
- Article
- Immediate Hemodynamic Responses to Transcutaneous Electrical Diaphragmatic Stimulation in Critically Ill Elderly Patients.Rehabilitation research and practice · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo review the evidence on the safety of neuromuscular electrical stimulation when used in the intensive care unit.
methodsA systematic review was conducted; a literature search was performed of the MEDLINE (via PubMed), PEDro, Cochrane CENTRAL and EMBASE databases, and a further manual search was performed among the references cited in randomized studies. Randomized clinical trials that compared neuromuscular electrical stimulation to a control or placebo group in the intensive care unit and reporting on the technique safety in the outcomes were included. Hemodynamic variables and information on adverse effects were considered safety parameters. Articles were independently analyzed by two reviewers, and the data analysis was descriptive.
resultsThe initial search located 1,533 articles, from which only four randomized clinical trials were included. Two studies assessed safety based on hemodynamic variables, and only one study reported an increase in heart rate, respiratory rate and blood lactate, without clinical relevance. The other two studies assessed safety based on reported adverse effects. In one, 15% of patients described a prickling sensation, without any clinically relevant abnormalities. In the other, one patient suffered a superficial burn due to improper parameter configuration.
conclusionNeuromuscular electrical stimulation is safe for critically ill patients; however, it should be applied by duly trained professionals and with proper evidence-based parameters.
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.