Effectiveness of exercise training on the dyspnoea of individuals with long COVID: A randomised controlled multicentre trial.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (CARDS) is a severe evolution of the Sars-Cov-2 infection and necessitates intensive care. COVID-19 may subsequently be associated with long COVID, whose symptoms can include persistent respiratory symptoms up to 1 year later. Rehabilitation is currently recommended by most guidelines for people with this condition. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of exercise training rehabilitation (ETR) on dyspnoea and health-related quality of life measures in people with continuing respiratory discomfort following CARDS. METHODS: In this multicentre, two-arm, parallel, open, assessor-blinded, randomised controlled trial, we enroled adults previously admitted with CARDS to 3 French intensive care units who had been discharged at least 3 months earlier and who presented with an mMRC dyspnoea scale score > 1. Participants received either ETR or standard physiotherapy (SP) for 90 days. The primary outcome was dyspnoea, as measured by the Multidimensional Dyspnoea Profile (MDP), at day 0 (inclusion) and after 90 days of physiotherapy. Secondary outcomes were the mMRC and 12-item Short-Form Survey scores. RESULTS: Between August 7, 2020, and January 26, 2022, 487 participants with CARDS were screened for inclusion, of whom 60 were randomly assigned to receive either ETR (n = 27) or SP (n = 33). Mean MDP following ETR was 42% lower than after SP (26.15 vs. 44.76); a difference of -18.61 (95% CI -27.78 to -9.44; p<10-4). CONCLUSION: People who were still suffering from breathlessness three months after being discharged from hospital with CARDS had significantly improved dyspnoea scores when treated with ETR therapy for 90 days unlike those who only received SP. Study registered 29/09/2020 on Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04569266).

Prone position in wards for spontaneous breathing Covid-19 patients: a retrospective study.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) caused a large number of non-ventilated hypoxemic patients to require the use of prone position. The aim of this study is to measure the efficiency and tolerance of prone positioning in ward hypoxemic patients treated for Covid-19. This retrospective study included confirmed Covid-19 hypoxemic patients treated by at least one prone position session. Primary outcome was pulse oximetry over inspired oxygen fraction ratio (SpO2/FiO2) before, during, and after prone position. Secondary outcomes were failure, adverse events, and poor tolerance rate. Twenty-seven patients were included. During first, second and third sessions, SpO2/FiO2 ratio was significantly higher during posture than before (p < 0.0001, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001 respectively). Eighteen patients were responders (defined as an improvement of SpO2/FiO2 of more than 50) during the first posture and have a shorter length of hospital stay than non-responder patients. Failure rate was 5%, and poor tolerance and adverse events rates were 8% and 7% respectively. Our study found that prone position in wards improved alveolar exchange during posture and is well tolerated. This technique could be used in any medical ward.