What Follows Survival of Critical Illness? Physical Therapists' Management of Patients With Post–Intensive Care Syndrome

Abstract

Historically, the management of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) has involved immobilization and sedation, with care focused on physiological impairments and survival. Because more ICU patients are now surviving their hospital stay, it is imperative that their ICU care be managed with the goal of long-term health, wellness, and functioning. The evidence confirms that mobilization and exercise are feasible in the ICU and demonstrates that the benefits of early mobilization include reduced length of stay in the ICU and hospital. In 2010, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) invited key stakeholder groups, including the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), to identify strategies to improve long-term consequences following ICU discharge, including early mobilization in the ICU and integration of the physical therapist as a member of the ICU team. This model appears to be successful in some institutions, but there is variation among institutions. The SCCM Task Force developed major areas of focus that require multidisciplinary action to improve long-term outcomes after discharge from an ICU. This article describes physical therapist practice in the management of ICU survivors, the importance of long-term follow-up after ICU discharge, and how APTA is taking steps to address the major areas of focus identified by the SCCM Task Force to improve long-term outcomes after ICU discharge.