title: Standing with the assistance of a tilt table improves minute ventilation in chronic critically ill patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of standing with assistance of the tilt table on ventilatory parameters and arterial blood gases in intensive care patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary referral hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen adult patients who had been intubated and mechanically ventilated for more than 5 days (3 subjects successfully weaned, 12 subjects being weaned).
  
  
  METHODS
  Passive tilting to 70 degrees from the horizontal for 5 minutes using a tilt table.
  
  
  METHODS
  Minute ventilation (VE), tidal volume (VT), respiratory rate, and arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and carbon dioxide (PaCO2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Standing in the tilted position for 5 minutes produced significant increases in VE (P <.001) and produced both increases in respiratory rate (P <.001) and VT (P =.016) compared with baseline levels. These changes were maintained during the tilt intervention and immediately posttilt. Twenty minutes after the tilt, there were no significant changes in ventilatory measures of VE, VT, or arterial blood gases PaO2 and PaCO2 compared with initial values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Standing for 5 minutes with assistance of a tilt table significantly increased ventilation in critical care patients during and immediately after the intervention. There were no improvements in gas exchange posttilt. Using a tilt table provided an effective method to increase ventilation in the short term.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia. a.chang@shrs.uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Angela T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Boots
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Hodges
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Jennifer D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Paratz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology*; D012119:Respiration; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D013990:Tidal Volume / Q000502:physiology