Progressive muscle relaxation exercises in patients with COVID-19: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with COVID-19 will experience high levels of anxiety and depression and poor levels of sleep and quality of life (QoL) due to isolation treatment and uncertain outcomes. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) exercises show promising treatment effects on mental health and sleep problems and overall QoL in COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PMR exercises in patients with COVID-19. METHODS: Both experimental and non-experimental studies related to PMR and COVID-19 were systematically searched in the PubMed, Cochrane Library, PEDro and HINARI databases for studies published from the occurrence of the pandemic to December 2022. Study selection, methodological quality assessment and data extraction were carried out by 2 independent authors. Efficacy outcomes were evaluated for sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and QoL. The safety outcomes were evaluated based on adverse events reported. Review manager (RevMan 5.4, Cochrane collaboration) was used for the data analysis. RESULTS: Four studies with 227 subjects were included in this systematic review. The pooled results indicated that PMR interventions improved the sleep quality score standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.23; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.54, 0.07; P = .13, level of anxiety SMD: -1.35; 95% CI -2.38, -0.32; P = .01 compared to the usual care. Depression level, disease severity and QoL were also improved following PMR interventions. Only 1 study reported worsening of 1 patient clinical status while all other studies did not report any adverse events during the interventions. CONCLUSIONS: PMR interventions can improve the sleep quality, anxiety, depression, disease severity and QoL in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in a short-term period compared to the usual care. However, there was indecision about the safety and long-term effects of PMR.

Depression and insomnia among healthcare professionals during COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Healthcare professionals play a great role in the struggle against COVID-19. They are highly susceptible to COVID-19 due to their responsibilities. This susceptibility directly affects their mental health status. Comprehensive evidence on prevalence of depression and insomnia during this pandemic is vital. Thus, this study aims to provide the pooled prevalence of depression and insomnia, and their associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies were searched from PubMed, Cochrane Library, CrossRef, African Journals Online and Google Scholar databases from the occurence of the pandemic to June 2022. Study selection, data extraction and methodological quality assessment were done by two authors independently. The I 2 statistics was used for testing heterogeneity. A random effect model was used. Stata version 16.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Eight studies were incorporated for this systematic review and meta-analysis. From seven studies the pooled prevalence of depression was 40% (95% CI [0.23-0.57]; I 2 = 99.00%; P = 0.00). From three studies the pooled prevalence of insomnia was 35% (95% CI [0.13-0.58]; I 2 = 98.20; P = 0.00). Associated factors of depression on healthcare workers (HCWs) were being female pooled AOR: 2.09; 95% CI [1.41-2.76], been married (pooled AOR = 2.95; 95% CI [1.83-4.07]). Due to limited studies available on the factors associated with insomnia, it is impossible to pool and associated factors were presented in narrative synthesis. Conclusion: COVID-19 is highly associated with the prevalence of depression and insomnia among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia. The pooled prevalence of depression and insomnia were significantly higher among healthcare professionals. Appropriate psychological counseling package should be realized for healthcare workers (HCWs) in order to recover the general mental health problems. Trial registration. This review was registered PROSPERO with registration number CRD42022314865.

Anxiety and stress among healthcare professionals during COVID-19 in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study intended to assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety and stress among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia. DESIGN: This study applied a design of systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. DATA SOURCES: ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND OUTCOMES: Observational studies examining anxiety and stress among healthcare professionals in Ethiopia following COVID-19 pandemic were considered. The primary outcomes were the prevalence of anxiety and stress and the secondary outcomes were factors associated to the prevalence of anxiety and stress. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two authors extracted the data and performed quality assessment independently. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the quality of eligible studies. Random-effect model with the inverse variance method was used to estimate the pooled effect size of the outcome variables with its 95% CI. Publication bias was checked by DOI plot and Luis Furuya Kanamori index. Stata V.14.0 (StataCorp) software was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Thirteen studies were included. From eight studies the pooled prevalence of anxiety was 46% (95% CI 0.30% to 0.61%, τ2=0.0497, I2=99.07%, p<0.001). Nine studies reported about stress and the pooled prevalence was 51% (95% CI 0.41% to 0.62%, τ2=0.0253, I2=97.85%, p<0.001)). Age, sex, marital status, working department, history of contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases and profession were associated factors for high level of anxiety and stress. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 pandemic highly affects mental health of healthcare professionals in Ethiopia. Anxiety and stress were among reported mental health problems among healthcare professionals during the pandemic. Timely psychological counselling programmes should be applied for healthcare professionals to improve the general mental health problems. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022314865.

Effectiveness and feasibility of telerehabilitation in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the pooled effectiveness and feasibility of telerehabilitation in patients with COVID-19. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). DATA SOURCES: PubMed, CINAHL, Science Direct, PEDro, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched to the end of March 2022. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND OUTCOMES: RCTs investigating the effects of telerehabilitation in the management of patients with COVID-19 were included. The outcomes of interest were functional capacity, cardiopulmonary exercise tests, quality of life and other variables where data are available. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two reviewers screened, extracted data and performed methodological quality assessment independently. The revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias. Review Manager V.5.4 and Stata V.14.0 software were used for statistical analysis. Mean difference (MD) with 95% CI and the corresponding p value were used to determine the treatment effect between groups. A fixed-effect model was used for all variables as no significant heterogeneity was observed. RESULTS: Four studies with 334 patients with COVID-19 were included. The pooled result of telerehabilitation showed statistically significant improvement on 6-minute walking test (MD 75.50; 95% CI 54.69 to 96.30; p=0.48), 30-second sit-to-stand test (MD 1.76; 95% CI 1.47 to 2.04; p=0.30), Borg Scale (MD 2.49; 95% CI 2.16 to 2.83; p=0.28) and level of dyspnoea (MD 6.26; 95% CI 5.42 to 7.10; p=0.66). The overall treatment completion rate was 88.46%, and the most common reason for withdrawal after randomisation was lost to follow-up or uncooperativeness. CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed that telerehabilitation interventions could improve functional capacity and exercise perception among patients affected by COVID-19 and can be implemented with a high completion rate and minimal adverse events. However, more studies are required to investigate the effects on cardiopulmonary function, quality of life, anxiety, depression and other variables. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021287975.

Effectiveness and feasibility of telerehabilitation in patients with COVID-19: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory rehabilitation is the use of exercise, education, and behavioural interventions to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life. Recent studies highlight that respiratory rehabilitation is effective and safe for patients with COVID-19. We aim to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of respiratory telerehabilitation on patients infected with COVID-19 by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library databases will be searched from inception to the end of November 2021. Randomised controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of telerehabilitation in the management of COVID-19 will be included. The primary outcomes will be functional capacity, cardiopulmonary exercise tests and quality of life. Secondary outcomes will include anxiety/depression level, sleep quality, mortality rate, completion rate, reason for withdrawal, adverse events, service satisfaction, cost-effectiveness and other potential factors. Two reviewers will independently screen and extract data and perform quality assessment of included studies. The Cochrane risk of bias tool will be used to assess risk of bias. Review Manager V.5.4 (Cochrane Collaboration) software will be used for statistical analysis. Heterogeneity will be analysed using I² statistics. Mean difference or standardised mean difference with 95% CI and p value will be used to calculate treatment effect for outcome variables. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required because this systematic review and meta-analysis is based on previously published data. Final result will be published in peer-reviewed journal and presented at relevant conferences and events. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021287975.