Nurse-involved early mobilization in the intensive care unit: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Jungmin Lee, Yeonju Kim, Hyun Joo Lee
PMID 39989266WHAT IT FOUND
Nurse-involved ICU early mobilization did not show a clear improvement in muscle strength.
It was linked with shorter ICU stays, but the studies varied in how nurses and other staff shared the work.
Key findings
01Pooled analysis of three RCTs did not show a clear improvement in muscle strength.
02Pooled analysis of six RCTs found shorter ICU stays, with a reported pooled estimate of -1.67 days.
03All included studies used gradual mobilization, and nurse involvement varied from nurses alone to multidisciplinary teams.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only studies published in English were included. The included ICU patients had different diagnoses, so results may not apply to all ICU populations. Some RCTs had concerns about bias, mainly missing blinding and randomisation details. Non-randomized studies had moderate to high risk of bias, including confounding and missing data. Muscle strength was measured with different tools and showed moderate to high heterogeneity. The review did not specify the exact role of nurses in most programmes, so it cannot isolate nurse contribution. Timing, dose and duration of mobilization varied across studies.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the shorter ICU stay as evidence that nurses alone produced the benefit. Some included studies used multidisciplinary teams, and none specified the nurse's exact role.