Patients undergoing prolonged mechanical ventilation represent up to 15% of all patients requiring weaning from mechanical ventilation. Although recent guidelines have recommended including physiotherapy early during mechanical ventilation to speed the process of weaning, only indirect evidence supporting the use of physiotherapy is available for patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation.
The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of physiotherapy program in subjects requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation and the correlates of successful weaning.
The date support the inclusion of physiotherapy in the management of patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation.