KINETIC THERAPY IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS - COMBINED RESULTS BASED ON METAANALYSIS

Several investigators have independently studied kinetic therapy (KT) using continuous postural oscillation in medical, surgical, and neurologic intensive care units (ICUs). These studies were designed to determine if KT would reduce complications associated with immobilization of ICU patients and reduce costs by decreasing hospital stay. The results based on the six randomized studies varied with reports of significant and nonsignificant differences between KT tables (Roto Rest bed, KCI, San Antonio, TX) and conventional hospital beds. The inconsistencies could be due in part to insufficient sample sizes of each study, which ranged from 30 to 100 patients. The present report presents the results of meta-analysis, which tests the statistical significance of differences between treatment groups by combining six independent studies with a total sample size of 419 patients. The analysis indicates that the incidences of pneumonia and atelectasis were significantly reduced by KT tables (P < .002 and P < .03, respectively). The number of hours intubated and the length of ICU stay were also significant (P < .04 and P < .02, respectively). However, KT did not appear to have a statistically significant effect on adult respiratory distress syndrome, pressure ulcers, embolisms, mortality, or length of hospital stay. © 1992.