Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Post-Acute Period of COVID-19 Infection

Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Post-Acute Period of COVID-19 Infection: Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation(PR) applied in the isolation processes of post-acute patients with mild and moderate symptoms who had positive COVID-19 test on dyspnea,muscle pain,chest expansion,lower limb muscle strength and dynamic balance,fatigue,anxiety and depression.

This study was conducted with 270 patients who were the COVID-19 test was positive and isolated in their homes during post-acute periods.While one of the groups (n=135) was asked to remain isolated at home by providing patient education,a PR program was applied for 4 weeks in addition to the patients in the other group(n=135).PR consists of patient education, breathing, in-house mobilization and range of motion exercises.As the evaluation parameters,pre-treatment and post-treatment dyspnea levels with Borg scale,muscle pain with visual analog scale(VAS),functional capacities with sit-up test,chest expansions with tape measure,respiratory frequency,fatigue level with fatigue severity scale,and emotional status with hospital anxiety and depression(HAD) scale were evaluated.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Between the ages of 28-45, positive COVID-19 test, being in the post-acute period, having symptoms of mild-moderate severity, respiratory rate ≤40 breaths / min, patients who can make video speech

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe symptom involvement, fever more than 38 degrees, obese patients, patients with multiple comorbidities, patients with one or more organ failure, oxygen saturation in the blood ≤95%, a resting blood pressure of <90/60 mmHg or> 140 / 90 mmHg patients