• Physiotherapy · Jun 2013

    Clinical Trial

    Implementation of a protocol facilitates evidence-based physiotherapy practice in intensive care units.

    • S Hanekom, Q A Louw, and A R Coetzee.
    • Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa. sdh@sun.ac.za
    • Physiotherapy. 2013 Jun 1; 99 (2): 139-45.

    ObjectivesTo compare the physiotherapy service provided when therapists' decisions are guided by an evidence-based protocol with usual care (i.e. patient management based on therapists' clinical decisions).DesignExploratory, controlled, pragmatic sequential time block clinical trial.SettingLevel 3 surgical unit in a tertiary hospital in South Africa.ParticipantsAll patients admitted consecutively to the surgical unit over a 3-month period were allocated to usual or protocol care based on date of admission.InterventionsUsual care was provided by clinicians from the hospital department, and non-specialised physiotherapists were appointed as locum tenens to provide evidence-based protocol care.Main Outcome MeasuresPatient waiting time, frequency of treatment sessions, tasks performed and adverse events.ResultsDuring protocol-care periods, treatment sessions were provided more frequently (P<0.001) and with a shorter waiting period (P<0.001). It was more likely for a rehabilitation management option to be included in a treatment session during protocol-care periods (odds ratio 2.34, 95% confidence interval 1.66 to 3.43; P<0.001). No difference in the risk of an adverse event was found between protocol-care and usual-care periods (P=0.34).ConclusionsPhysiotherapy services provided in intensive care units (ICUs) when the decisions of non-specialised therapists are guided by an evidence-based protocol are safe, differ from usual care, and reflect international consensus on current best evidence for physiotherapy in ICUs. Non-specialised therapists can use this protocol to provide evidence-based physiotherapy services to their patients. Future trials are needed to establish whether or not this will improve patient outcome.Copyright © 2012 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

      Pubmed     Full text   Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…