ICUs Try to Get Patients Out of Bed

Mobile, lightly sedated patients fare better, study finds

By Sarah Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 12, 2009 12:23 PM CST

(Newser) – Doctors are finding that ICU patients who are woken every day and even get up and walk around do better than those who remain heavily sedated, the New York Times reports. A recent study showed that just 5 days on a ventilator left some patients barely able to move. Problems after an ICU stay include weakness, weight loss, and post-traumatic stress.

"My opinion is that maintaining some awareness of reality is better for your psyche,” one doctor said in explaining why it makes a difference to wake patients. Some hospital staffers are skeptical, though: It takes a team of people to make gravely ill patients mobile. But the docs involved in the study hope their forthcoming clinical trial will prove that it's worth it.

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An ICU stay can leave a patient weak and disturbed for months or years, doctors have found. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

Some doctors say ICU patients recover more quickly if they're encouraged to get up and move as soon as possible. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

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Our biased impression is that mobilization is helpful. A typical patient may not even be able to walk when they leave the I.C.U. or even the hospital. When we see them walk in the I.C.U., we believe that has to be better. - Dr. Dale Needham, Johns Hopkins

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 3 comments

Michael_CT

Jan 12, 2009 11:27 PM CST

omg, are you an idiot? this article is about improoving the health of individuals who are very ill !!! and you want them to rest more? no wonder the USA has one of the biggest obesity problems on planet earth. sies!

riffran

Jan 12, 2009 8:23 PM CST

yeah let them rest, stasis pneumonia, antibiotics and longer ICU stays mean more income....just kidding...the sooner a person is up and about the faster they recover, and the less chance of contracting a nosocomial infection, due to a long stay....riff

Shannonals

Jan 12, 2009 4:51 AM CST

C'mon, let a person rest a bit

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hospitals • doctors • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder • intensive care unit • ICU

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ICUs Try to Get Patients Out of Bed