Kress and Hall propose that rehabilitation of critically ill patients should begin in the ICU. The authors name sepsis, systemic inflammation, multiorgan failure, hyperglycemia, glucocorticoid use, and female sex as risk factors for ICU-acquired weakness; however, they do not discuss the patient’s skeletal-muscle status before ICU admission. This factor is largely neglected in clinical practice, in which 5 to 13% of patients who are 60 to 70 years of age and 11 to 50% of patients who are 80 years of age or older are affected by sarcopenia, which is defined as age-associated appendicular muscle wasting.

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