Treatment of Critical Illness Polyneuromyopathy

Acute respiratory failure is a heterogeneous disorder that results in more than 300,000 Americans requiring admission to an intensive care unit for invasive mechanical ventilatory support each year. Though acute respiratory failure is a pulmonary disorder, patients who survive their hospitalization are not limited by respiratory symptoms after discharge. Rather persistent neuromuscular weakness is the primary disorder that adversely alters their quality of life and ability to function on a daily basis. In this application the investigators plan to conduct a randomized clinical trial called the Do It Now study (Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuromuscular Weakness) to determine the effectiveness of an intensive physical therapy program for patients recovering from acute respiratory failure. This trial will establish the efficacy of the physical therapy programs that is currently performed for patients with acute respiratory failure in a non-evidence based manner across the United States.