• Cathrine Tadyanemhandu and Shamila Manie.
• Department of Rehabilitation, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, PO Box AV 178., Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe. cathytadya@gmail.com.
• BMC Anesthesiol. 2015 Oct 7; 15: 136.

BackgroundPhysiotherapy is integral to patient management in the Intensive Care Unit. The precise role that physiotherapists play in the critical care differs significantly worldwide. The aim of the study was to describe the profile of patients and the current patterns of physiotherapy services delivered for patients admitted in the five public hospital intensive care units in Zimbabwe.MethodsA prospective record review was performed and records of all consecutive patients admitted into the five units during a two months period were included in the analysis. The data was collected using a checklist and the following were recorded for each patient: 1) demographic information, 2) admission diagnoses, 3) surgery classification, 4) method and time of mechanical ventilation 5) physiotherapy techniques and frequency and 6) the length of stay.ResultsA total of 137 patients were admitted to five units during the study. The mean age of patients in the study was 36.0 years (SD = 16.6). A mortality rate of 17.5 % was observed with most of the patients being below the age of 45 years. The majority of the patients, 61(45 %) had undergone emergency surgery and were in the ICU for postoperative treatment, whilst only 19(14 %) were in the units for clinical treatment (non-surgical). On admission, 72(52.6 %) of the patients were on mechanical ventilation. The mean duration on mechanical ventilation for patients was 4.0 days (SD =2.7) and a length of stay in the unit of 4.5 days (SD = 3.0). Of the patients who were admitted into the ICU 120 (87.6 %) had at least one session of physiotherapy treatment during their stay. The mean number of days physiotherapy treatment was received was 3.71 (SD = 3.14) days. The most commonly used physiotherapy techniques were active assisted limb movements (66.4 %), deep breathing exercises (65.0 %) and forced expiratory techniques (65.0 %).ConclusionA young population admitted in the ICU for post-surgical treatment was observed across all hospital ICUs. The techniques which were executed in Zimbabwean ICUs showed that the goal of the physiotherapy treatment was mainly to prevent and treat respiratory complications and a culture of promoting bed rest still existed.Trial RegistrationPACTR201408000829202.

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