title: Weakness in the ICU: a call to action.
abstract: Muscle weakness is prevalent in critically ill patients and can have a dramatic effect on short- and long-term outcomes, yet there are currently no interventions with proven efficacy in preventing or treating this complication. In a new randomized trial, researchers found that serial electrical muscle stimulation significantly mitigated ultrasound-defined muscle atrophy, and the treatment was not linked to adverse effects. Although preliminary, these results, together with other recent studies, indicate a paradigm shift to a proactive approach in managing neuromuscular complications in the ICU.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA. rstevens@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Jonghe
authors.forename: Tarek
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sharshar
mesh_terms: D016638:Critical Illness; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000592:standards*; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic