Summary of the best evidence for early rehabilitation in ICU patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy

TL;DR

This study compiles the best evidence for early rehabilitation in ICU patients on continuous renal replacement therapy to guide clinical decisions.

Contribution

It provides a synthesized summary of the top 20 pieces of evidence for early rehabilitation in ICU-CRRT patients.

Findings

Eight studies were included, covering expert consensus, systematic reviews, and guidelines.

Five key areas for early rehabilitation were identified: multidisciplinary collaboration, preactivity assessment, contraindications, exercise strategies, and monitoring.

The evidence supports personalized rehabilitation strategies to improve ICU patient recovery.

Abstract

To summarize the best evidence for early rehabilitation in intensive care unit (ICU) patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy, both domestically and internationally, with the aim of providing a reference for clinical decision-making.

A systematic search of expert consensus, guidelines, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and other literature related to early rehabilitation in ICU patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy from BMJ Best Practice, UpToDate, PubMed, JBI Evidence-Based Healthcare Center, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Elsevier Science Direct, Web of Science, CBM, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, Weipu databases, WHO, International Guideline Collaboration Network, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Scotland Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, and the National Guidelines Clearinghouse website was performed. The search period was from database inception until June 30, 2025. Two researchers conducted a quality assessment and synthesis of the included evidence.

A total of 8 studies were included in this research. These included 2 expert consensus papers, 2 systematic reviews, 1 quasi-experimental study, 1 group standard, 1 recommendation, and 1 evidence summary. The study summarizes the 20 best pieces of evidence for early rehabilitation in ICU patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy, covering five key areas: multidisciplinary collaboration, preactivity preparation and assessment, activity contraindications, exercise rehabilitation strategies, and monitoring during activity.

This study summarizes the best evidence for early rehabilitation in ICU patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy, providing an evidence-based foundation for healthcare professionals to formulate rehabilitation strategies. By tailoring interventions to the individual patient’s condition, personalized measures can be implemented to further enhance rehabilitation quality.

This study provides reference evidence for clinical healthcare personnel to implement scientifically based and personalized early rehabilitation strategies for ICU patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy to promote their recovery.

This evidence summary was developed in accordance with the evidence synthesis reporting guidelines established by the Fudan University Center for Evidence-based Nursing, which themselves derive from the methodological framework for evidence summarization promulgated by the Joanna Briggs Institute. This study follows the evidence summary report guidelines of the Evidence-Based Nursing Center at Fudan University, registered under the title “Evidence Summary for Early Rehabilitation in ICU-CRRT Patients,” with registration number “ES20246522.”

Fudan University Evidence-Based Nursing Center: [http://ebn.nursing.fudan.edu.cn/home].

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