Definition of Deconditioning??

[NurseCinderella]

hello all, I just wanted to simply ask what does deconditioning mean??

For instance, "this patient is deconditioning status post respiratory failure".

I'm guess deterioration of health?? Just making sure! Thank you :)

[mamamerlee, LPN]

Deconditioning is a general downslide of overall physical strength and endurance. Although most patients might have a tweak of this after a big surgery or major illness, this term is usually applied when a formerly independent, or mostly independent, person is now not able to perform routine activities, like their ADLs, and IADLs, and their progress continues to slide.

There is a 'normal' amount of this, with gains usually seen after a few days, as the patient returns to baseline. But this is referring to those pts who continue to decline when they should be getting better.

[steelcityrn, RN]

Yup, agree with the above. Usually this means a need for physical therapy to assist in rebuilding strength and endurence to the patients potential. It also means that there has been a significant decrease in muscle strength and possible atrophy of muscle, r/t illness, bedrest ect...

[NurseCinderella]

Oh okay, thanks for the explanations!! Helped! I'm learning... =)