Effects of early mobilization in reducing hospitalization time in critical patients in intensive care unit: an integrative literature review

Abstract

The intensive care unit (ICU) is the place in the hospital designed to offer advanced life support and continuous care to sick patients with an imminent risk of death. Critical patients in the ICU may present some disorders due to immobility in the bed, resulting in muscle changes, cardiopulmonary complications and cognitive deficiencies. These factors can prolong the hospital stay of these patients, increasing the risk of complications and death. To analyze the effects of early mobilization in reducing the length of hospital stay in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. It was an integrative literature review, with data obtained through research in the electronic databases: PubMed / MedLine, Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo), International Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and Google Scholar, in the months from August 2020 to June 2021, without language restrictions. Six articles were found that met the eligibility criteria, which were included in the integrative literature review. Through the results found, there was a decrease in the length of hospital stay of critical patients undergoing early intervention in the ICU, however, no significant differences were found between the groups. Further studies are needed to expand the evidence regarding the topic addressed.