ArticleFrontiers in medicine2022
Safety and efficacy of electrical stimulation for lower-extremity muscle weakness in intensive care unit 2019 Novel Coronavirus patients: A phase I double-blinded randomized controlled trial.
Article in Frontiers in medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04685213 (Electrical Stimulation Therapy for Preventing Hospital-acquired Weakness in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients - A Proof of Concept Randomized Controlled Trial), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
Electrical Stimulation Therapy for Preventing Hospital-acquired Weakness in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients - A Proof of Concept Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Rehabilitation and COVID-19: systematic review by Cochrane Rehabilitation.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2023Pooled it
- The effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on hospitalised adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Age and ageing · 2023Pooled it
- Gastrocnemius electrical stimulation increases ankle dorsiflexion strength in patients with post-acute sequelae of SARS-COV-2 (PASC): a double-blind randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Electrical stimulation to regain lower extremity muscle perfusion and endurance in patients with post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2: A randomized controlled trial.Physiological reports · 2023Trial
- Feasibility and tolerability of electrical muscle stimulation during rehabilitation in older adults with osteoporotic vertebral fractures.Osteoporosis and sarcopenia · 2025Article
- Systematic review of the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation in post-coronavirus disease.The South African journal of physiotherapy · 2025Review
- Effects of acute phase intensive electrical muscle stimulation in COVID-19 patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation: an observational case-control study.Scientific reports · 2024Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) prolonged immobilization may lead to lower-extremity muscle deconditioning among critically ill patients, particularly more accentuated in those with 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Electrical stimulation (E-Stim) is known to improve musculoskeletal outcomes. This phase I double-blinded randomized controlled trial examined the safety and efficacy of lower-extremity E-Stim to prevent muscle deconditioning. Methods: Critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU were randomly assigned to control (CG) or intervention (IG) groups. Both groups received daily E-Stim (1 h) for up to 14 days on both gastrocnemius muscles (GNMs). The device was functional in the IG and non-functional in the CG. Primary outcomes included ankle strength (Ankle Results: Thirty-two (IG = 16, CG = 16) lower extremities in 16 patients were independently assessed. The mean time between ICU admission and E-Stim therapy delivery was 1.8 ± 1.9 days ( Conclusion: This study supports the safety and efficacy of early E-Stim therapy to potentially prevent deterioration of lower-extremity muscle conditions in critically ill COVID-19 patients recently admitted to the ICU. If confirmed in a larger sample, E-Stim may be used as a practical adjunctive therapy. Clinical trial registration: [https://clinicaltrials.gov/], identifier [NCT04685213].
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