Early mobility activities during continuous renal replacement therapy

Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is a therapeutic technique used to support critically ill patients with acute renal failure in intensive care units. CRRT is preferred over hemodialysis for patients who cannot tolerate the rapid fluid and electrolyte shifts associated with hemodialysis because of their tenuous hemodynamic state. Traditionally, such patients have not been candidates for mobilization and have remained on strict bed rest. Mobilization is now being initiated on patients undergoing CRRT in intensive care units. This case study chronicles the successful mobilization of a patient undergoing CRRT. This experience suggests that CRRT patients who are appropriate candidates may be mobilized safely and therefore should not automatically be excluded from mobilization therapies.