Investigating adherence to pulmonary rehabilitation and long-term sequelae in patients with Long COVID

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Long COVID, an emerging condition, is caused following infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Patients report a broad spectrum of symptoms including breathlessness and fatigue. NICE recommends pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) as a management option in such patients (NICE, 2022;COVID-19 rapid guideline). Our aim was to investigate the number of patients who completed PR and those who, despite PR, had persistent symptoms requiring further management. Method(s) We conducted a retrospective review of patients referred to the Cheshire and Merseyside Long COVID service from March 1st to April 30th, 2021. We analysed adherence to PR and patient outcomes using PR discharge reports and GP records. Result(s) 88 patients were referred to PR. - 60 (68.1%) female - Age range 18-84 (56.8% were 40-59 years old). - 48 (54.5%) completed PR 31 patients did not complete PR. 10 (4.5%) did not respond to contact. 7 (7.9%) self-discharged-4 due to resolution of symptoms. 4 (11.4%) were unable to proceed due to poor health. 10 patients (11.4%) partially completed PR. Of the patients who completed PR, 22 (45.8%) had persistent symptoms which required onward referrals to specialist services (figure 1). Discussion PR improved symptoms in over half of all patients. However, 35% of patients were unable to complete PR due to varying factors which need to be explored further to help improve adherence to PR programmes.