The present study demonstrated that
most of the physical therapy performed
in the NICU consisted of
ROM or bed-based interventions.
Functional activities, including gait
training, were performed less frequently
in the NICU than in the postNICU
setting. Our results stand in
contrast to the recent trend toward
early mobilization for patients who
are critically ill; it has been shown
that physical therapy—specifically,
ambulation—can be more intensive
in the NICU than in the post-NICU
setting.15 Moreover, the present
study demonstrated that gait training
and functional activities occurred
less frequently in patients requiring
invasive support in the NICU, including
mechanical ventilation or ICP
monitoring. Although these findings
were likely due, in part, to the severity
of illness of a given patient in the
NICU, we were unable to evaluate
the specific reasoning behind an
individual therapist’s decision to perform
certain interventions. Thus,
patients in the NICU with, perhaps,
the greatest risk for debilitation
received less intensive physical therapy
interventions than their
counterparts.