Recovery after covid-19: treatment program in an integrated rehabilitation center

Abstract

Despite reaching clinical discharge criteria, patients with COVID-19 do not resume daily activities due to disability, and the rehabilitation process is of interest to health services and society. Objective: To describe the post-COVID-19 patient's level of functionality and the result of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program. Methods: This is an observational, descriptive study with a quantitative analysis of assessments concerning demands and an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program. Results: 22 patients of both sexes with and mean age of 48.46 (±12.63) years were included in the study. 81.8% of the participants had comorbidities and 95.5% were overweight or had some degree of obesity. All participants reported decreased QoL (SF36), and none of them reached the average distance expected for the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). Twenty patients presented dyspnea during daily activities and 21 had limitations on the Post-COVID Functional Status Scale-19 (PCFS). Twenty patients completed the rehabilitation program and the results of the baseline and discharge comparison showed significant differences in muscle strength (p<0.001), peak flow Meter (p<0.001), Berg Balance Scale (p<0.001), Barthel Index (p<0.001), and heart rate and distance during 6MWT (p=0.002 and p<0.001, respectively). The SF-36 differences from baseline to discharge for the General Health and Emotional Well-being domain were not significant (p=0.058 and p=0.194, respectively). Significant differences were found between the baseline and discharge scores of PCFS (p<0.001) and dyspnea (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings evidence that, at admission, physical disability had a greater correlation with the length of hospital stay and that an interdisciplinary rehabilitation process improves the functionality and QoL of the patient with COVID-19 sequelae.