Current status and influencing factors of pulmonary rehabilitation implementation for ECMO patients in 30 ICU units in Anhui province

ObjectiveTo investigate the current status of pulmonary rehabilitation implementation for patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in 30 intensive care units(ICU) in Anhui province,and to analyze its influencing factors.MethodsIn December 2024,30 ICU units from 29 hospitals in Anhui Province were selected.A self⁃designed questionnaire on the current status of pulmonary rehabilitation implementation for ECMO patients was used for the survey.ResultsAmong the 30 ICU units,24(80.00%) conducted systematic assessments before initiating ECMO pulmonary rehabilitation.The assessment and implementation personnel were primarily ICU physicians,nurses,and respiratory therapists.Basic pulmonary rehabilitation techniques were widely applied; however,participation by rehabilitation therapists was insufficient,and the application of advanced techniques was limited.Overall,the standards for the implementation process were incomplete.Besides basic pulmonary rehabilitation,13 ICU units (43.33%) implemented pulmonary rehabilitation during ECMO support.There were statistically significant differences between ICU units implementing pulmonary rehabilitation and those not implementing pulmonary rehabilitation in terms of the number of ECMO cases performed in the past year,availability of rehabilitation therapists,pulmonary rehabilitation implementation protocols,and presence of emergency response plans for pulmonary rehabilitation(<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.05).Reasons for not implementing pulmonary rehabilitation during ECMO included insufficient experience (100.00%),safety concerns(88.24%),prioritizing treatment over rehabilitation (70.59%),and lack of an implementation team(58.82%).ConclusionsPulmonary rehabilitation for ECMO patients in tertiary hospitals in Anhui province has achieved a certain foundation.However,further improvements are needed in resource allocation,multidisciplinary collaboration,process standardization,and family involvement to enhance the implementation rate and level of pulmonary rehabilitation for ECMO patients.