Critical illness neuropathy.

Critical illness neuropathy frequently accompanies the septic syndrome in intensive care units. Another entity that may occur independently or concurrently in critically ill patients is a myopathy, giving rise to difficulties in distinguishing between them. The two patients described had sensorimotor axonal peripheral neuropathy. Axonopathy as a rule has a poor prognosis for recovery, which is slow and often incomplete. There are few reports of the functional outcome after rehabilitation therapy. The two patients described had 5-6 weeks of active rehabilitation therapy with improvement from moderate/severe disability at the onset to slight debility at the end of therapy.