Article

Purpose: To document and describe the use of a hospital-wide, 24-hour
cardiorespiratory physiotherapy service run by an intensive care unit (ICU) team
of physiotherapists. Methods: We prospectively collected data on all non-ICU
hospital patients who used the 24-hours-per-day cardiorespiratory physiotherapy
service over a 1-year period between July 2013 and June 2014. The ICU
physiotherapists documented the reason, origin of referral, time of call, and
type and frequency of treatment of each patient. Results:
Over the 1-year period,
the ICU physiotherapists administered 2,192 out-of-hours cardiorespiratory
physiotherapy treatments (n=685 patients) outside the ICU. Most referrals
originated from the emergency department (25%), the cardiopulmonary transplant
unit (20%), and the pulmonology department (16%). Referrals were from a
physiotherapist in 49% of cases, from a nurse in 32%, and from a physician in
19%. Of these, 89% were made between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and sputum
retention was the most frequent reason (86%). Conclusion: Although proving its
cost effectiveness is difficult, organizing a 24-hours-per-day,
7-days-per-week
cardiorespiratory physiotherapy service in a large hospital is feasible.

Langue : ANGLAIS