A study examined the use of early mobility through the use of a mobility team (physical therapist, critical care nurse, and nursing assistant) within 48 hours of intubation. 4 Phases of PT were determined: phase 1 began on day 1 with PROM, phase 2 included AAROM and AROM with 5 reps performed for each exercise. Therapy focused on functional activities in later phases and concluded when patient was transferred out of the ICU. This intervention when compared to usual care lead to patient OOB earlier, low complication rates, decreased time in ICU and hospital stay, and did not increase cost to hospital (Morris et al., 2008).
