INTRODUCTION: Physical therapists are involved in intensive care unit management. Therefore it is necessary to obtain knowledge about the impact of weaning. This study addresses the impact of weaning of difficult patients regarding mortality, survival rate, duration of intensive care unit management and the possible conclusions for physical therapy. METHOD: A literature research was undertaken in the database of PubMed/Medline. The methodological quality of each retrieved publication was assessed using the PEDro-scale. RESULTS: Nine RCTs were included in the analysis. Weaning with non-invasive ventilation (NIV) decreases mortality, hence survival rates increased. Four studies reported reduced intensive care unit stay. There are no studies available covering the adequate physical therapy management. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies should address the question of adequate physical therapy management.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• PDF locator
• publisher