Neuromuscular abnormalities developing as a consequence of critical illness can be found in the majority of patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) for 1 week or more (1–3). The spectrum of illness ranges from isolated nerve entrapment with focal pain or weakness, to disuse muscle atrophy with mild weakness, to severe myopathy or neuropathy with associated severe, prolonged weakn...

)ften difficult. Often, clinical tésting of the sensory :uflctions is neither reliable nor helpful in the determination. Theoretically, predominant proximal . veakness, neck flexor weakness, and facial weakness occur more often in patients with myopathy. Dn needle electromyography, low amplitudes and short duration of the motor unit potentials suggest myopathy. Normal sensory nerve action poten...