Clinical Research Directory

Critical Illness Weakness Outside the Intensive Care Unit.

When people become seriously ill, their bodies can be affected in many ways beyond the original disease. One well-known complication in patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) is the development of severe muscle weakness caused by damage to muscles and nerves. This condition is called critical illness-related weakness and includes disorders of the nerves (neuropathy), the muscles (myopathy), or both. These problems can make it difficult for patients to move, walk, or even breathe independently, and recovery can take months or longer. So far, most research on this type of weakness has focused on patients who were treated in ICUs. However, many hospitalized patients outside the ICU-such as those admitted to internal medicine wards or semi-intensive care units-can also experience severe infections, organ failure, inflammation, prolonged bed rest, and metabolic stress. These are the same risk factors known to cause nerve and muscle damage in ICU patients. Despite this, weakness occurring outside the ICU is often overlooked, attributed simply to "deconditioning" or prolonged bed rest, and not properly investigated. The CRI-WEAK-OUT study aims to better understand whether critical illness-related weakness also occurs in hospitalized patients who are not admitted to the ICU, how often it happens, how severe it is, and what factors increase the risk of developing it. This is a prospective observational study, meaning that patients will be followed over time during and after their hospital stay, without changing their usual medical care. The study will include about 600 adult patients hospitalized for acute illnesses in non-ICU wards across several Italian hospitals. Half of the participants will have signs of organ failure during hospitalization, while the other half will serve as a comparison group without organ failure. All participants will undergo careful clinical evaluations shortly after hospital admission and again before discharge. Doctors will assess muscle strength, level of disability, independence in daily activities, and overall frailty using standardized and widely accepted scales. Six months after discharge, patients will be contacted by phone to evaluate their recovery and quality of life. If a patient develops new or worsening muscle weakness during hospitalization, more detailed tests will be performed. These include electrical tests of nerves and muscles to understand whether the weakness is caused mainly by nerve damage, muscle damage, or both. In a subgroup of patients, additional blood samples will be collected to measure substances linked to inflammation and nerve injury. These biological markers may help doctors recognize the condition earlier and predict recovery. By collecting detailed clinical, electrical, and biological information, the study aims to answer several important questions: * How common is critical illness-related weakness outside the ICU? * Which patients are most at risk? * How does this condition affect recovery and long-term independence? * Can blood markers help identify patients with nerve or muscle damage? The results of the CRI-WEAK-OUT study may improve awareness of this under-recognized condition, promote earlier diagnosis, and help clinicians plan better prevention and rehabilitation strategies. Ultimately, this research could lead to improved care, faster recovery, and better quality of life for many hospitalized patients who currently experience unexplained weakness after acute illness.

Metabolomics Study on Postoperative Intensive Care Acquired Muscle Weakness

In this mono-center pilot trial, surgical patients who are at high risk to be admitted to intensive care will be screened and asked for participation. We are going to take blood and muscle samples at respecified time points to do metabolic, histological and molecular testing. Aim of the study is to investigate (1) changes of the blood metabolome in patients with ICUAW (intensive care unit acquired weakness) and (2) identify metabolic components who are responsible for ICUAW or can be used as marker for ICUAW.

High-Tech Rehabilitation Pathway for Acute Adult Neuromuscular Diseases - Fit4MedRob-Acute MND Project

The goal of this study is determine if a high-tech rehabilitation circuit is more effective than usual rehabilitation methods in improving functional outcome, particularly balance control, for patients with acute neuromuscolar diseases. The main question it aims to answer is: Are high-tech rehabilitation interventions, including robotic systems, virtual reality, and stabilometric platforms, more effective than traditional rehabilitation methods in improving balance, motor function, fatigue levels, sarcopenia, cognitive engagement, and overall quality of life in patients with acute neuromuscular diseases (NMDs)? Researchers will compare a robotic treatment group, that consists in an high-tech rehabilitation, with a control group, that will receive the traditional rehabilitative treatment.

Recovery From ICUAW Following Severe Respiratory and Cardiac Failure

To observe and identify determinants of recovery from intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICUAW) following a severe cardiorespiratory failure requiring extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Additionally, to discover the effects of ICUAW on physical function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after critical illness. CLEVERER is a clinical observational pilot study.

NLRP3 Inflammasome and Physical Therapy in ICU-Acquired Weakness

The goal of this clinical trial is to study whether physical therapy can reduce NLRP3 inflammasome activation and muscle atrophy in patients with critical illness myopathy (CIM). It will also explore the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathophysiology of CIM. The main questions this study aims to answer are: Is NLRP3 inflammasome activation associated with muscle atrophy through the upregulation of atrogenes? Does physical therapy attenuate NLRP3 inflammasome activation in skeletal muscle, thereby contributing to the prevention or reduction of muscle atrophy in CIM? Researchers will compare enhanced physical therapy using servo-assisted bed cycling (Motomed Letto®) in critically ill patients at risk of developing CIM during the early phase of ICU stay to conventional physical therapy (standard physiotherapy), to assess whether physical therapy reduces NLRP3 inflammasome activation and muscle degradation. Participants will: Be randomized to receive either conventional physical therapy or enhanced physical therapy (Motomed Letto®) for 7 consecutive days. A control group of patients without CIM will also be included. Undergo assessments of NLRP3 activity, muscle atrophy markers, and transcriptomic profiles from serum and vastus lateralis muscle biopsies. Be clinically evaluated using the SOFA scale and muscle ultrasound for CIM diagnosis. Be followed up for changes in muscle strength and physical functionality. Provide sociodemographic and clinical information to be recorded throughout the study.

Improved Recovery of Walking in Acquired Muscle Weakness

The aim of Re-Walk-Easy is to evaluate the effects of rehabilitation based on electrical stimulation on the motor performance of critically ill patients. The study will also investigate the pathophysiology of the two forms-the myopathic-predominant and the polyneuropathic-predominant variants-by examining the longitudinal progression of CIP and CIM and determining which form benefits more from electrical stimulation as a rehabilitative approach.

CPAx: Responsiveness and Minimal Clinically Important Difference

Intensive care unit (ICU) acquired weakness is a common complication associated with long-term physical impairments in survivors of a critical illness. The Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment tool (CPAx) is a valid and reliable instrument for physical function and activity in critically ill patients at risk for muscle weakness. However, its ability to measure change over time (responsiveness) and the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) have not yet been rigorously investigated. This multi-centre, mixed-methods, longitudinal cohort study therefore aims to establish responsiveness and the MCID of the CPAx in the target population from ICU baseline to ICU and hospital discharge. The study uses routine data from standard physiotherapy sessions like mobility, function and activity with no additional burden for critically ill adults. The investigators expect the CPAx to be responsive allowing its use as a primary outcome in future effectiveness trials for the treatment of ICU-acquired weakness using the newly established MCID for sample size calculation. A high quality, rigorously tested measurement tool for physical function and activity in the ICU should benefit researchers, clinicians and patients.

Transcutaneous Functional Magnetic Muscle Stimulation in Critically Ill

ICU-Acquired weakness (ICU-AW) is a significant complication of critical illness. ICU-AW is common in patients with sepsis, systemic inflammatory response, and mechanically ventilated. It is estimated that around 50% of patients recovering from the primary illness remain in intensive care with characteristic muscle weakness. This leads to dependence on mechanical ventilation, prolonging costly intensive care hospitalization. The myopathy causes persistent functional impairment, endangering patients long after hospital discharge. Magnetic stimulation prevents inactivation atrophy of skeletal muscles, as demonstrated in the mobilized limb of rats. Transcutaneous magnetic stimulation of the quadriceps via the femoral nerve is a safe and painless method even when applied to humans. In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), quadriceps magnetic stimulation increased spontaneous contraction force compared to the control group and improved quality of life. Patients with COPD tolerate quadriceps magnetic stimulation well, as it does not affect oxidative stress in muscles but does increase the size of slow-twitch muscle fibers. In intensive care medicine, magnetic stimulation has been primarily used for diagnostic purposes in assessing diaphragm function, peripheral muscle strength assessment, and transcranial electrical stimulation as a diagnostic tool and therapeutic stimulation of brain cells. With the development of modern transcutaneous magnetic stimulators, the possibility arises for their use in intensive care medicine for therapeutic purposes such as preventing critical illness myopathy. To date, no research has been conducted on the use and effectiveness of magnetic stimulation of peripheral muscles in critically ill individuals. The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of Functional Muscle Magnetic Stimulation (FMS) on the development of ICU-AW.