Physical capacities assessment in critically ill patients: An exploratory study.

Area of Science:

• Intensive Care Medicine
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Physiology

Background:

• Muscle weakness post-critical illness is highly variable.
• Identifying patients benefiting from early exercise is crucial.
• Physical capacity assessment requires strength and functional tests.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between muscle strength and functional tests in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
• To determine if muscle strength measurements correlate with functional mobility and autonomy.
• To inform better assessment strategies for physical recovery in critical care.

Main Methods:

• Included adults with ICU length of stay ≥2 days.
• Assessed handgrip strength (HG) and quadriceps strength (QS).
• Utilized ICU Mobility Scale (ICU-MS) and Barthel Index for functional assessment.

Main Results:

• Significant positive correlations found between HG and QS (absolute and relative).
• ICU-MS showed a weak positive correlation with HG, but not QS.
• Barthel Index had a weak positive correlation with muscle strengths.

Conclusions:

• No strong association exists between muscle strength and functional tests (ICU-MS, Barthel Index) during ICU stay.
• Muscle dynamometry and functional tests are likely complementary for quantifying physical capacity.
• Further research may clarify the optimal combination of assessments for personalized rehabilitation.