The following is a summary of “Outcome measures to evaluate functional recovery in survivors of respiratory failure: A scoping review,” published in the May 2024 issue of Critical Care by Parrotte et al.

Respiratory failure, a life-threatening condition affecting millions annually in the United States, leaves survivors with enduring functional impairments, reduced QoL, and cognitive deficits, yet lacks a universally accepted method for assessing their recovery.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study identifying the outcome measures currently used to assess functional recovery in survivors of respiratory failure and how the measures affected recovery.

They established a review protocol adhering to PROSPERO guidelines. Articles underwent a two-stage screening process by independent reviewers, first evaluating titles and abstracts followed by full-text review. Inclusion criteria specified participants to be 18 years or older, survivors of hospitalization for acute respiratory failure, recipients of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), investigating function or functional recovery as an outcome post-respiratory failure, peer-reviewed and employed any quantitative study design.

The result showed 5,873 abstracts yielded 56 eligible articles. Articles employed a diverse range of 28 distinct outcome measures to assess functional survivors’ recovery. Performance-based measures (n=8) and self/proxy-reported measures (n=20) were utilized. Before 2019, only 43% (12 out of 28) of the distinct measures were employed, while from 2019 to 2024, a much wider range of 89% (25 out of 28) distinct measures were utilized. The Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) was the most frequently used measure (46%). However, only 34 out of 56 studies assessed outcomes at 6 months or longer following discharge or enrollment.

Investigators concluded that variability in measuring functional recovery among respiratory failure survivors underscores the need for a standardized approach to ensure consistent and effective evaluation.

Source: chestcc.org/article/S2949-7884(24)00038-8/fulltext#%20