Résumé
Intensive Care Unit (ICU)-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) is a serious disease that prolongs the length of stay in hospital. It corresponds to the former term that is still often used in Frenchspeaking countries "neuromyopathy''. A rapid clinical diagnosis should be made, usually after the interruption of sedation and the beginning of mechanical-ventilation weaning, in order to manage ICU-AW early and actively. Several physiopathological theories have been made to explain this injury of the muscles, nerves, or both. An association with diaphragmatic dysfunction is often observed during ICU-AW, either isolated or in combination with peripheral muscle injury, worsening patients' prognosis; pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles are frequently concerned as well, leading to the risk of swallowing disorders after extubation. Paraclinical tests are useful only if ICU-AW is doubtful clinically (asymmetry of weakness, association with sensitive disorders, weakness of face muscles, especially oculomotor muscles, and/or the absence of improvement despite appropriate rehabilitation, or in patients with neurological injuries). No specific treatment is recommended today. Several risk factors, which are related to ICU-AW, should be controlled as fast as possible during the ICU stay, especially the major known risk factors: systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, shock, as well as a major therapeutic and manageable factor: immobility related to the duration and depth of sedation.