Title: “A 4-week observational study to identify cardiopulmonary trends in critically-ill sepsis patients participating in physiotherapy rehabilitation in the VGH-ICU”
Supervisor: Dr. Bill Sheel
Committee members: Dr. Michael Koehle, Dr. Lisa Fischer, Dr. William Henderson
Abstract: Early mobilization has been increasingly recognized as a therapeutic tool in the intensive care unit (ICU) for critically ill patients. The advancement of critical care medicine has led to the growth of the cohort of patients termed ‘chronically critically ill’. These patients successfully stabilize from acute critical illness, however due to deterioration of physical and/or cognitive function become dependent on full time hospital care. ICU acquired weakness (ICUAW) is a spectrum disease characterized by symmetrical physical and/or cognitive impairments developed during their critical illness while they are being treated in the ICU. The development of ICUAW is a contributing factor that leads to chronic critical illness. Early mobilization has been proposed as a tool that can be used to prevent the onset of ICUAW physical deterioration. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the rehabilitation practices and quantify the cardiopulmonary trends in critically ill sepsis patients in the Vancouver General Hospital’s (VGH) ICU. The proposed work seeks to specifically observe those patients who participate in early mobilization as part of their rehabilitation and make comparisons to those who do not. The objective is to guide future research in the field of early mobilization of critically ill patients in the VGH-ICU.