Author Description

This practice guide was created as a result of our many years of experience with the physical therapy treatment of critically ill patients in the intensive care units of the University Hospital Gasthuisberg in Leuven. This guide is intended to be a practical manual for the physical therapy assessment and treatment of both respiratory conditionsand the consequences of critical illness on physical and mental dysfunction in these patients. The practice guide covers the practical procedures for performing and interpreting commonly used functional tests and treatment methods. In the intensive care team, physician specialists, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, psychologists, biotechnicians and social workers work very closely together for the care of the critically ill patient. We hope that this guide will be a useful contribution in shaping the role of physical therapy in the intensive care unit. Since the revised edition of 2021, the guide has been expanded with video material of evaluation as treatment methods available on the UZ Leuven website: https://www.uzleuven.be/nl/respreva password: Resp_reva. This material will provide an even better picture of implementation in clinical practice. In the text the video links are indicated with this symbol.