Cerfoglio, S.; Verme, F.; Capodaglio, P.; Rossi, P.; Cvetkova, V.; Boldini, G.; Galli, M.; Cimolin, V. Motor and Respiratory Tele-Rehabilitation in Patients with Long COVID-19 after Hospital Discharge: An Interventional Study. Life2024, 14, 864.
Cerfoglio, S.; Verme, F.; Capodaglio, P.; Rossi, P.; Cvetkova, V.; Boldini, G.; Galli, M.; Cimolin, V. Motor and Respiratory Tele-Rehabilitation in Patients with Long COVID-19 after Hospital Discharge: An Interventional Study. Life 2024, 14, 864.
Cerfoglio, S.; Verme, F.; Capodaglio, P.; Rossi, P.; Cvetkova, V.; Boldini, G.; Galli, M.; Cimolin, V. Motor and Respiratory Tele-Rehabilitation in Patients with Long COVID-19 after Hospital Discharge: An Interventional Study. Life2024, 14, 864.
Cerfoglio, S.; Verme, F.; Capodaglio, P.; Rossi, P.; Cvetkova, V.; Boldini, G.; Galli, M.; Cimolin, V. Motor and Respiratory Tele-Rehabilitation in Patients with Long COVID-19 after Hospital Discharge: An Interventional Study. Life 2024, 14, 864.
Abstract
The persistence of symptoms following COVID-19 infection represents a significant challenge in healthcare management. During the outbreak, tele-rehabilitation emerged as a new tool to support healthcare structures in providing rehabilitation services. This study assessed the effectiveness and the feasibility of a 3-week home-based motor and respiratory rehabilitation program for long COVID-19 individuals after traditional rehabilitation. Twenty-three patients completed the program and underwent functional tests at different time points (i.e. baseline, after hospital discharge, and after tele-rehabilitation). Motor function was evaluated using the instrumented Six-Minutes Walking Test (i6MWT), with monitored heart rate and oxygen saturation. Conversely, respiratory function was measured via forced vital capacity (FVC) and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) tests. Significant improvements (p < 0.05) in motor and respiratory function were observed throughout the intervention, including an 18.3% increase in walked distance from the baseline. The findings suggest that a home-based tele-rehabilitation can enhance motor and respiratory function in post-COVID patients. Despite limitations such as sample size and lack of control group, the positive outcomes seem to support the feasibility of the proposed tele-rehabilitation program in managing long COVID symptoms and promoting functional recovery. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore tele-rehabilitation’s potential in broader patient populations.
Keywords
COVID-19; long COVID; rehabilitation; tele-rehabilitation; motor rehabilitation; respiratory rehabilitation
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Other
Copyright:
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