Quadriplegia after ECMO therapy with sluggish recovery in a COVID‐19 patient: A case report with a 14‐month follow‐up

Abstract

Abstract COVID‐19 patients often develop neuromuscular complications, and critically ill patients often develop ICU‐acquired weakness. We report a COVID‐19 patient who developed flaccid quadriplegia after ECMO therapy and achieved a slow but consistent recovery during a 14‐month period of sustained holistic rehabilitation including early mobilization to an outdoor environment.

Keywords

• critical illness polyneuropathy
• early mobilization
• garden
• ICU‐AW
• out‐of‐the‐ICU activity