LAUSR

OBJECTIVE To evaluate and summarize the best evidence for early rehabilitation of adults with veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). METHODS Evidence on early rehabilitation of adult VV-ECMO patients was searched by computer from 7 English literature databases [PubMed database, cumulative index to nursing and allied health literature (CINAHL), Embase database, Cochrane library database, UpToDate clinical consultant, BMJ best clinical practice, JBI database], 5 Chinese literature databases (China biomedical literature database, China Yimai Tong, China national knowledge infrastructure, Wanfang data, VIP database), 5 guideline networks [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), Guidelines International Network (GIN), China Guide Network] and 2 professional association websites [Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO), Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine]. The search period is from January 2011 to December 2021. The appraisal of guidelines for research and evaluation II (AGREE ) and JBI 2014 quality assessment tools were used to evaluate the quality of inclusion guidelines, systematic reviews, expert consensus and original studies, respectively, and to extract and summarize the best evidence for early rehabilitation of adults with VV-ECMO. RESULTS A total of 2 guidelines, 2 expert consensuses, 2 systematic reviews and 8 original studies [including 1 randomized controlled trial (RCT), 1 non-randomized controlled study, 3 cohort studies and 3 case reports] were included. The evidence was summarized from 9 aspects including the necessity of early rehabilitation, rehabilitation initiation time, rehabilitation location, pre-rehabilitation preparation, pre-rehabilitation assessment, rehabilitation method, rehabilitation frequency and duration, rehabilitation process monitoring and effect evaluation,and finally 24 pieces of the best evidence were summarized. CONCLUSIONS Early rehabilitation of adults with VV-ECMO is safe and feasible. The summary of the best evidence can provide evidence-based guidance for clinical medical staff to reasonably carry out early rehabilitation.