Relationship between availability of physiotherapy services and ICU costs.

Objective: To determine whether 24-h availability of physiotherapy services decreases ICU costs in comparison with the standard 12 h/day availability among patients admitted to the ICU for the first time.

Methods: This was an observational prevalence study involving 815 patients ≥ 18 years of age who had been on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for ≥ 24 h and were discharged from an ICU to a ward at a tertiary teaching hospital in Brazil. The patients were divided into two groups according to h/day availability of physiotherapy services in the ICU: 24 h (PT-24; n = 332); and 12 h (PT-12; n = 483).

Recovery of functional capacity in severe trauma victims at one year after injury: association with trauma-related and hospital stay aspects.

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the functional capacity of trauma survivors one year after hospital discharge and to identify associations with trauma- and hospital stay-related aspects in a developing country. [Subjects and Methods] This study included severe trauma patients (Injury Severity Score ≥16; ≥18 years old) who were admitted to an intensive care unit in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Hospital stay data were collected from the patients' records.