The considerable growth in the science and application of pulmonary rehabilitation since 2006 adds further support for its efficacy in a wide range of individuals with chronic respiratory disease.

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BackgroundMany patients with COVID-19 do not require hospitalisation, let alone have undergone COVID-19 testing. There is anecdotal evidence that patients with “mild” COVID-19 may complain about persistent symptoms, even weeks after the infection. This suggests that symptoms during the infection may not resolve spontaneously. The objective of this study was to assess whether multiple relevant symptoms recover following the onset of symptoms in hospitalised and non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19.Methods2113 members of two Facebook groups for coronavirus patients with persistent complaints in The Netherlands and Belgium, and from a panel of people who registered at a website of the Lung Foundation Netherlands, were assessed for demographics, pre-existing comorbidities, health status, date of symptoms onset, COVID-19 diagnosis, healthcare utilisation, and the presence of 29 symptoms at the time of the onset of symptoms (retrospectively) and at follow-up (79±17 days after symptoms onset).Results112 hospitalised patients and 2001 non-hospitalised patients (confirmed COVID-19, n=345; symptom-based COVID-19, n=882; and suspected COVID-19, n=774) were analysed. The median number of symptoms during the infection reduced significantly over time (14 (11–17) versus6 (4–9), p<0.001). Fatigue and dyspnoea were the most prevalent symptoms during the infection and at follow-up (fatigue: 95% versus 87%; dyspnoea: 90% versus 71%).ConclusionIn previously hospitalised and non-hospitalised patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, multiple symptoms are present about 3 months after symptoms onset. This suggests the presence of a “post-COVID-19 syndrome” and highlights the unmet healthcare needs in a subgroup of patients with “mild” or “severe” COVID-19.

Multimorbidity is common in patients with COPD, and different comorbidity clusters can be identified. Low-grade systemic inflammation is mostly comparable among comorbidity clusters. Increasing knowledge on the interactions between comorbidities increases the understanding of their development and contributes to strategies for prevention or improved treatment.