Early respiratory rehabilitation for critically ill children with mechanical ventilation

Objective To develop the early respiratory rehabilitation techniques in pediatric intensive care unit(PICU) for children with mechanical ventilation. Methods A respiratory rehabilitation team was established, and early respiratory rehabilitation intervention methods for critically ill children were also developed.Early bedside rehabilitation were implemented after the vital signs of mechanical ventilation children were stable for 24 hours, and the rehabilitation effect and adverse events were observed. Results According to the patient′s condition, 23 patients in PICU received early respiratory rehabilitation after incubations, including 10 males and 13 females, aged 57.0(17.5, 91.5) months.There was no adverse event in 729 rehabilitation practices.The average consulting time was 8.0(4.0, 18.0) days after incubations.The average incubation time was 693.5(345.2, 1 027.1)hours of all the patients.As to 16 patients who were weaned before charged out, the average incubation time was 566.2(243.4, 928.7)hours, and the average incubation time from respiratory rehabilitation performance to weaning was 168.0(6.0, 564.0) hours.In 19 patients who only received limbs massage and passive movements, the average incubation time was 381.7(309.6, 541.4) hours and the average incubation time from respiratory rehabilitation performance to weaning was 187.2(81.5, 382.9) hours.However the difference between these who received respiratory rehabilitation and only received limbs massage and passive movements was not statistically significant. Conclusion It′s safe and feasible to perform the early respiratory rehabilitation in PICU for critically ill children with mechanical ventilation. Key words: Respiratory rehabilitation; Critically ill; Mechanical ventilation; Pediatric intensive care unit