Reprinted with permission from Ches...

Reprinted with permission from Chest. 2003;1 24:292-296 ?© 2003 American community of Chest Physicians.

Study Objective: To compare the weights of active limb mobilization (ALM) with or without electrical stimulation (ES) upon muscle strength, respiratory rate (RR) heart rate, oxygen saturation, and time needinessed to transfer from bed to chair in couple groups of patients with COPD Design: Randomized, controll reflection Setting: Respiratory highdependency care unit. Patients: Twenty-four bed-bound patients with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure appropriate to CC)PD who were receiving mechanical ventilation, with marked peripheral muscle hypotonia and atrophy. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned either to ALM alone or to ALM plus E (ALM/ES). E was applied using square-wave alternate, symmetric, and compensated impulses for 30 min bid. The duration of treatment was 28 days for all patients. Results: Muscle vigor improved significantly in the overall assemblage of patients (from 1.75 ?± 073 to 344 ?± 065 p

Copyright Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal Dec 2003

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