Electromiografía de superficie (EMGs) en pacientes adultos en cuidados intensivos: revisión exploratoria

Introduction. Surface electromyography (sEMG) in critically ill patients has been suggested as a non-invasive, easy-to-use tool for diagnosis, follow-up of ICU-Acquired Weakness (ICU-AW) and the identification of intentional and automatic motor patterns. The objective of this review was to map and present the published information related to the use of surface electromyography (EMGs) in adult patients in intensive care. Methodology. Exploratory review with the Joanna Briggs Institute method conceived by Arskey and O’Malley. A search was carried out in the Cochrane Database, PubMed, SciELO, BVS, CINAHL, PEDro, EBSCO and manual search, with the use of keywords and MeSH terms in Spanish, English and Portuguese languages, with no limit of time. Results are presented in a descriptive way. Studies of review, primary outcome studies and event posters were included. Results. 1146 studies were identified and 1135 were excluded. Additionally, 2 studies were identified and 9 were included through manual search. These studies were published in Colombia, France, The United States of America, Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, Korea, and Uruguay. Reports correspond 30% to diagnostics and 40% to controls of the ICU-AW. 33.3% (n=3) of the found studies were transversal studies, 22.2% (n=2) were case reports, 22.2% (n=2) were revision studies and 11.1% (n=1) for the following designs: number of cases and article resume. Conclusion. The use of sEMG on critical patients has been principally cantered on diagnosing muscle weakness developed while in ICU and the control of medical strategies when hospitalized. Revised evidence describes the use of sEMG on critical patients as a tool for evaluating and controlling peripheral muscle and respiratory activation without being invasive. Moreover, it strengthens the growing interest in using objective tools for diagnosing and controlling muscle functions on critical patients.