The Effect of Upper Limb Elevation on Limb Edema and Central Venous Pressure in ICU Patients

Background: Patients admitted to ICU are susceptible to different complications, such as extremities edema. Proper nursing intervention is one of the important aspects of ICU patient’s care. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of hand elevation to reduce hand edema and intravenous volume of ICU patients. Patients and Methods: This experimental clinical study was conducted on 40 ICU patients in hospitals affiliated to Kerman university of medical sciences, Kerman, Iran. During five consecutive days, we randomly elevated one hand of patients with edema, using a 30-degree inclined plane and fixed it for 30 minutes. In each session, before and after limb elevation, central venous pressure (CPV), size of the wrist and the midsection of the arm were measured and recorded. Results: Elevating upper limb was effective to reduce hand edema and increasing CVP of ICU patients (P < 0.05). In addition, there was a meaningful association between gender and reduction of arm edema (P = 0.04), and between GCS and wrist edema (P = 0.02). Conclusions: Raising upper limb as a low expense method without any complications could be efficient to reduce hand edema of ICU patients and improve effective intravascular volume.