There is one trial of NMES therapy in
mechanically ventilated patients (27).
This unmasked, randomized, controlled
trial was performed in 24 bed-bound patients
in a high-dependency unit. The
study subjects, who had COPD requiring
mechanical ventilation, were assigned
randomly to either mobilization therapy
alone or to mobilization plus twice-daily,
30-min NMES for 28 days. Patients randomized
to the NMES therapy group had
significantly improved muscle strength
on physical examination as compared
with those who received mobilization
therapy alone (mean Medical Research
Council muscle strength score 2.2
1.0 vs. 1.3 0.8, p .02) and a signifi-
cant decrease in the number of days requ