Rehabilitation of a patient with infectious COVID-19 disease

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Severe/critical COVID-19 is characterised by bilateral pneumonia with hypoxemia leading to ARDS, and occasionally to MODS. A combination of different factors, including a prolonged stay in the ICU/acute department, can cause several symptoms such as dyspnoea, fatigue, sarcopenia and disability. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on selfsufficiency, muscle strength, breathing mechanics and oxygen parameters. Methods: 19 patients (12 women, 7 men) in the post-acute phase of severe/critical COVID-19 pneumonia (10 patients after mechanical ventilation, 9 patients after HFNO) were admitted to inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation. The average age was 66,53 years. We collected clinical characteristics and assessed several measures such as BI, muscle strength (assessed by dynamometry and Janda’s muscle scale), type of breathing and breathing excursion, oxygen parameters (SpO2, breathing frequency) and dyspnoea (using Borg dyspnoea scale) before and after pulmonary rehabilitation. Results: We found a statistically significant improvement in all outcome measures. Conclusion: Our study shows that pulmonary rehabilitation is an effective option in COVID19 patients suffering from permanent impairments. © 2022, LIECREH GUTH. All rights reserved.