Appendix 1: Search strategy employed for Medline 1. exp Critical Care/
2. Intensive Care/
3. Critical Illness/
4. Burns/
5. intensive care units/ or burn units/ or coronary care units/ or respiratory care units/
6. (care adj3 (Critical or Intensive)).mp.
7. (ICU or HDU or ITU).mp.
8. Cachexia/ or Muscle, Skeletal/ or Muscle Proteins/ or Muscular Atrophy/ or Muscle/ or Muscular Diseases/ or Wasting syndrome/ or Muscular Disorders, Atrophic/
9. Muscle Weakness/
10. Muscle wasting.mp.
11. Exercise/ or Disabled Persons/ or Disability Evaluation/ or physical disability.mp or Quality of Life/
12. Activities of Daily Living/ or Motor Activity/ or Physical Fitness/
13. Or/1-7 14. Or/8-12
15. Controlled clinical trial.pt.
16. Randomized controlled trial.sh.
17. Random allocation.sh.
18. Double blind method.sh.
19. Single blind method.sh.
20. Or/15-19 21. clinical trial.pt.
22. exp clinical trial/
23. (clin$ adj25 trial$).ti,ab.
24. ((singl$ or doubl$ or trebl$ or tripl$) adj25 (blind$ or mask$)).ti,ab.
25. placebos.sh.
26. placebo$.ti,ab.
27. research design.sh.
28. Or/21-27
29. comparative study.sh.
30. exp evaluation studies/
31. follow up studies.sh.
32. prospective studies.sh.
33. (control$ or prospective$ or volunteer$).ti,ab.
34. Or/29-33 35. 20 or 28 or 34 36. 13 and 14 and 35
