Systematic ReviewResearch

Nurse-involved early mobilization was linked to shorter ICU stays, but not greater muscle strength

Nursing in Critical Care (PubMed)Mar 1, 2025

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Brief summary

A systematic review and meta-analysis found that nurse-involved early mobilization was associated with shorter ICU length of stay but not with improved muscle strength.

What NurseJet pulled from the source

Pooling nine studies (from 943 records), the analysis found nurse-involved early mobilization significantly reduced ICU length of stay (95% CI -3.22 to -0.11 days; p = .04) but did not significantly improve muscle strength (95% CI -0.86 to 0.99; p = .80). None of the studies clearly defined the specific tasks nurses performed during mobilization.

Why this matters for nurses

Early mobilization is a core part of the ICU Liberation (ABCDEF) bundle, and nurses usually coordinate and monitor it at the bedside. This may matter for nurses because it adds meta-analytic support that nurse-involved mobilization is associated with getting patients out of the ICU sooner, while flagging that the nurse's exact role still needs to be standardized locally.

Bedside takeaway

Be aware that nurse-involved early mobilization was linked to shorter ICU stays but not to measurable muscle-strength gains, and none of the pooled studies defined the nurse's exact role.

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Key takeaways

Across nine studies, nurse-involved early mobilization was associated with significantly shorter ICU stays.
No significant effect on muscle strength was found.
Programs varied between nurse-only and multidisciplinary delivery, and none specified the nurse's exact role.
Several included trials had bias concerns, so read findings as supportive rather than definitive.

Practice implications

Support structured, progressive early mobilization as part of the ABCDEF bundle and daily goals, and advocate for a clearly defined nursing role and safety criteria in your unit's mobilization protocol. Frame mobilization around reducing ICU stay and complications rather than expecting measurable strength gains.

Limitations & cautions

Only nine studies were pooled, several had bias concerns, and the nurse's specific role was not defined. A reduction in ICU length of stay is an association from heterogeneous studies, not proof that mobilization alone shortens stay.
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Citations

Exact source links

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Nursing in Critical Care (PubMed)

Nursing in Critical Care (PubMed). Nurse-involved early mobilization in the intensive care unit: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39989266/

Professional education only

This summary does not replace clinical judgment, facility policy, provider orders, or official guidelines. Verify practice changes against the original source and local protocol.

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Frontiers in Medicine (PubMed)Jun 23, 2026Research Article

In a prospective self-controlled study of 42 awake mechanically ventilated ICU patients, closed-system suctioning was followed by a sharp rise in self-reported dyspnea that largely resolved within 5 minutes, and this worsening occurred even though oxygen saturation went up.

ICUAI summaryReview source

Research ArticleResearchWorkflowAI summary · original source linked below

Endotracheal suctioning is a routine airway care procedure in mechanically ventilated patients, but its immediate effect on how breathless patients feel has not been well quantified. In this prospective self-controlled observational study conducted from May to October 2025 in a tertiary ICU in Sichuan Province, China, awake mechanically ventilated adults with a Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale score of 0 to +1 who required closed-system suctioning were enrolled. Dyspnea was assessed with the Dyspnea Visual Analog Scale (D-VAS, 0 to 10) before suctioning (T0), immediately after (T1), and 5 minutes after (T2), while peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate were recorded at the same times. Fifty-three suctioning procedures from 42 patients were included. D-VAS scores rose from 2.8 plus or minus 1.9 at T0 to 6.4 plus or minus 2.1 at T1 (mean increase 3.6, 95 percent CI 3.1 to 4.1, P less than 0.001), then fell to 3.2 plus or minus 1.7 at T2 (P less than 0.001 versus T1). Dyspnea worsened in 92.5 percent of procedures at T1, and 15.1 percent had not returned to baseline at T2. Even though SpO2 rose from 97.2 plus or minus 2.1 percent to 99.1 plus or minus 1.3 percent at T1, dyspnea worsened substantially, pointing to a possible dissociation between oxygenation and subjective respiratory distress. The authors conclude that closed-system suctioning may cause clinically significant but transient worsening of dyspnea that appears independent of oxygenation, and that individual dyspnea assessment during routine suctioning warrants attention, while noting the study was a single-center convenience sample.

Key takeaways

Across 53 closed-system suctioning procedures in 42 awake ventilated ICU patients, self-reported dyspnea rose sharply immediately after suctioning (D-VAS 2.8 to 6.4, mean increase 3.6, P less than 0.001) and largely settled by 5 minutes (3.2).
Dyspnea worsened in 92.5 percent of procedures right after suctioning, and 15.1 percent had not returned to baseline 5 minutes later.
Oxygen saturation actually increased with suctioning (97.2 percent to 99.1 percent), yet patients still felt more breathless, suggesting SpO2 and subjective distress can move in opposite directions.
The authors call the worsening clinically significant but transient and recommend assessing individual patients' dyspnea during routine suctioning.

Why this matters on shift

Suctioning is one of the most frequent things ICU nurses do for ventilated patients, and it is easy to assume that a stable or rising oxygen saturation means the patient is comfortable. This study may matter for critical care nurses because it shows that awake ventilated patients can feel markedly more breathless right after suctioning even when their SpO2 improves.

Bedside takeaway

Worth knowing that in a small ICU study, closed-system suctioning caused a sharp but short-lived rise in patient-reported breathlessness even as oxygen saturation rose, so a good SpO2 may not mean an awake ventilated patient feels comfortable.

Nursing implications

For ICU nurses, the findings suggest watching for and, where possible, asking about breathlessness around suctioning rather than relying on the oxygen saturation number alone, since most patients in this study felt worse immediately afterward. Knowing the distress is usually brief but occasionally lingers can support brief reassurance and reassessment before assuming an awake ventilated patient is at ease.

Limitations & cautions

This was a single-center convenience sample of only 42 patients and 53 procedures, with no prospective sample size calculation and a one-dimensional dyspnea scale, so the estimates are preliminary. It enrolled only awake, lightly sedated patients able to self-report, so the findings may not apply to more deeply sedated patients, and confirmatory multicenter studies are needed.
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Citations · exact source links

Frontiers in Medicine (PubMed). Impact of closed-system suctioning on self-reported dyspnea in mechanically ventilated patients: a prospective observational study.

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Nursing in Critical Care (PubMed)Jul 1, 2026Research Article

In a quasi-experimental study of 60 ICU nurses, adding short text-message reminders to a training session significantly improved nurses' knowledge and performance in ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention compared with the training session alone.

Med-Surg ICUAI summaryReview source

Research ArticleResearchInfection ControlAI summary · original source linked below

Sixty intensive care unit nurses in Kermanshah, Iran attended a training session on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) prevention and were randomly split into a 30-nurse intervention group and a 30-nurse control group. The intervention group received educational text messages with key points from the session every other day for two weeks; the control group received none. Most participants were women (n = 40, 66 percent), more than half were over 30 years old (n = 28, 53 percent), and most had less than 10 years of experience (n = 52, 86 percent). At pre-test the groups were similar, with mean knowledge scores of 21.1 plus or minus 2.9 (intervention) and 20.2 plus or minus 2.9 (control) and performance scores of 120.8 plus or minus 10.4 and 120.1 plus or minus 13.4. At post-test the SMS group scored significantly higher than the control group on knowledge (22.1 plus or minus 1.9 vs 20.2 plus or minus 1.5; p less than 0.001) and on performance (126.9 plus or minus 8.2 vs 120.8 plus or minus 9.7; p less than 0.02). The authors conclude that ongoing SMS reminders improved nurses' VAP-prevention knowledge and performance.

Key takeaways

Sixty ICU nurses were randomized to receive VAP-prevention text-message reminders every other day for two weeks (n = 30) or training alone (n = 30).
At post-test, the SMS group scored significantly higher than the control group on knowledge (22.1 vs 20.2; p less than 0.001) and performance (126.9 vs 120.8; p less than 0.02).
The two groups had similar knowledge and performance scores before the intervention.
The authors describe the reminders as a low-cost microlearning approach that can reinforce infection-prevention behaviours, including in resource-limited settings.

Why this matters on shift

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a serious ICU infection, and sustaining nurses' prevention knowledge and bedside adherence after a single training session is a common challenge. This study may matter for nurses and educators because it tests a simple, low-cost reinforcement, brief text messages, and finds it improved both knowledge and performance over training alone.

Bedside takeaway

Worth knowing that in a small ICU study, adding brief text-message reminders after a training session significantly improved nurses' knowledge and performance on ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention compared with training alone.

Nursing implications

For ICU nurses and educators, the findings suggest that short, repeated text-message reminders after a training session can be a practical way to keep VAP-prevention steps front of mind and improve measured performance. Because the effect was seen over a two-week window in one setting, such reminders are best viewed as a supplement to established VAP-prevention bundles rather than a replacement.

Limitations & cautions

This was a single-center quasi-experimental study of only 60 nurses in one Iranian city, so the results may not generalise to other units or countries. Performance was measured with a questionnaire over a short two-week period, so the study does not show whether gains persisted longer term or whether they translated into lower VAP rates for patients.
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Citations · exact source links

Nursing in Critical Care (PubMed). Effect of Short Messages on ICU Nurses' Knowledge and Performance Regarding Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Prevention: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

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American Journal of Critical Care (PubMed)Jul 1, 2026Research Article

In a prospective cohort at one 900-bed center, nasogastric tube-related pressure injuries were significantly more frequent on the internal medicine ward than in the ICU, an unexpected reversal the authors link to comorbidity burden, staffing ratios, and tube-fixation technique.

ICU Med-SurgAI summaryReview source

Research ArticleResearchAI summary · original source linked below

This prospective cohort study followed adults who had a nasogastric tube placed during or within four hours before admission to the ICU (88 patients) or internal medicine ward (48 patients) of a 900-bed medical center, monitoring daily for tube-related pressure injuries from July 2022 to July 2024. Contrary to the expectation that sicker ICU patients would fare worse, incidence was significantly lower in the ICU (4 patients; 0.47 per 100 patient-days) than on the internal medicine ward (13 patients; 3.02 per 100 patient-days; P < .001). Internal medicine ward patients had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (mean 7.7 vs 3.0; P = .02), and nasogastric tube fixation methods differed between the departments. The authors name comorbidity burden, nurse-to-patient ratios, and fixation technique as possible contributors that warrant further study.

Key takeaways

Nasogastric tube-related pressure injury incidence was significantly lower in the ICU (0.47 per 100 patient-days) than on the internal medicine ward (3.02 per 100 patient-days; P < .001).
Four of 88 ICU patients versus 13 of 48 internal medicine ward patients developed a tube-related pressure injury.
Internal medicine ward patients carried a higher comorbidity burden (Charlson index 7.7 vs 3.0; P = .02).
Nasogastric tube fixation methods differed between the two departments and are a suspected contributor.

Why this matters on shift

Medical device-related pressure injuries from nasogastric tubes are painful, largely preventable, and easy to overlook under the tape. This study may matter for nurses because it challenges the assumption that these injuries cluster in the ICU, pointing instead to comorbidity, staffing, and fixation technique as drivers that apply on any ward.

Bedside takeaway

Worth knowing that nasogastric tube-related pressure injuries were more common on the internal medicine ward than in the ICU (3.02 vs 0.47 per 100 patient-days), pointing to comorbidity, staffing, and tube fixation as drivers.

Nursing implications

For nurses on any unit with tube-fed patients, the findings reinforce routinely inspecting the skin under and around nasogastric tube fixation (nares and cheeks), rotating or adjusting securement to relieve pressure, and not assuming lower-acuity wards are low risk. Consistent, pressure-relieving fixation technique and regular skin checks may matter as much as patient acuity.

Limitations & cautions

This was a single-center study with a small sample (88 ICU and 48 internal medicine ward patients), so the counterintuitive finding may not generalize, and the authors flag comorbidity burden, nurse-to-patient ratios, and fixation technique as confounders needing further investigation. Patients with pre-existing facial injuries or wounds were excluded, and the observational design cannot establish why incidence differed between departments.
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Citations · exact source links

American Journal of Critical Care (PubMed). Incidence of Nasogastric Tube-Related Pressure Injuries in Intensive Care Unit and Internal Medicine Ward.

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AI-summarized from the linked source. Review the original article before applying to practice.

Key takeaways

Practice implications

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Exact source links

More updates for this clinical area

Closed-system suctioning triggered a sharp but short-lived rise in patient-reported dyspnea even as oxygen saturation went up

Repeated text-message reminders improved ICU nurses' VAP-prevention knowledge and performance in a quasi-experimental study

Nasogastric tube-related pressure injuries were more common on the internal medicine ward than in the ICU