Expert consensus on rehabilitation practice during outbreaks of the novel coronavirus pneumonia and other infectious respiratory diseases / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP), an acute infectious respiratory disease in Wuhan, China in December 2019, which was officially named COVID-19 by WHO, has caused enormous burden on society and health services. To ensure safe rehabilitation practice during the epidemic, the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine formed an expert group to develop a consensus statement for rehabilitation practice. The consensus statement provides guidance on (1) safeguarding medical staff, patients, caregivers and visitors; and (2) timing and methods of effective rehabilitation interventions for treatment of COVID-19 patients. It also emphasizes that non-COVID-19 patients still require rehabilitation intervention during the epidemic outbreak, bearing in mind the safety of staff and patients and making adaptations according to the individual conditions and the patients′ actual environment. This expert consensus statement applies to departments of rehabilitation medicine and related disciplines in general hospitals as well as to specialized rehabilitation facilities, and it provides valuable reference for rehabilitation professionals working with infectious respiratory diseases in the future.