Background Early neurorehabilitation improves outcomes in patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) after brain injury, but its applicability in COVID-19 is unknown. We describe our experience implementing an early neurorehabilitation protocol for patients with COVID-19-associated DoC in the intensive care unit (ICU) and evaluate factors associated with recovery. Methods During the initial COVID-19 surge in New York City between March 10 and May 20, 2020, faced with a disproportionately high number of ICU patients with prolonged unresponsiveness, we developed and implemented an early neurorehabilitation protocol, applying standard practices from brain injury rehabilitation care to the ICU setting. Twenty-one patients with delayed recovery of consciousness after severe COVID-19 participated in a pilot early neurorehabilitation program that included serial Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) assessments, multimodal treatment, and access to clinicians specializing in brain injury medicine. We retrospectively compared clinical features of patients who did and did not recover to the minimally conscious state (MCS) or better, defined as a CRS-R total score (TS) ≥ 8, before discharge. We additionally examined factors associated with best CRS-R TS, last CRS-R TS, hospital length of stay, and time on mechanical ventilation. Results Patients underwent CRS-R assessments a median of six (interquartile range [IQR] 3–10) times before discharge, beginning a median of 48 days (IQR 40–55) from admission. Twelve (57%) patients recovered to MCS after a median of 8 days (IQR 2–14) off continuous sedation; they had lower body mass index ( p = 0.009), lower peak serum C-reactive protein levels ( p = 0.023), higher minimum arterial partial pressure of oxygen ( p = 0.028), and earlier fentanyl discontinuation ( p = 0.018). CRS-R scores fluctuated over time, and the best CRS-R TS was significantly higher than the last CRS-R TS (median 8 [IQR 5–23] vs. 5 [IQR 3–18], p = 0.002). Earlier fentanyl ( p = 0.001) and neuromuscular blockade ( p = 0.015) discontinuation correlated with a higher last CRS-R TS. Conclusions More than half of our cohort of patients with prolonged unresponsiveness following severe COVID-19 recovered to MCS or better before hospital discharge, achieving a clinical benchmark known to have relatively favorable long-term prognostic implications in DoC of other etiologies. Hypoxia, systemic inflammation, sedation, and neuromuscular blockade may impact diagnostic assessment and prognosis, and fluctuations in level of consciousness make serial assessments essential. Early neurorehabilitation of these patients in the ICU can be accomplished but is associated with unique challenges. Further research should evaluate factors associated...

Background Prone positioning improves mortality in patients intubated with acute respiratory distress syndrome and has been proposed as a treatment for non-intubated patients with COVID-19 outside the ICU. However, there are substantial patient and operational barriers to prone positioning on acute floors. Our objective was to increase the frequency of prone positioning among acute care patients with COVID-19. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of all adult patients admitted to the acute care floors with COVID-19 respiratory failure. We used a run chart to quantify the frequency of prone positioning over time. For the subset of patients assisted by a dedicated physical therapy team, we compared oxygen before and after positioning. Our initiative consisted of four separate interventions: (1) nursing, physical therapy, physician, and patient education; (2) optimization of supply management and operations; (3) an acute care prone positioning team; and (4) electronic health record optimization. Results From March 9, 2020 to August 26, 2020, 176/875 (20.1%) patients were placed in prone position. Among these, 43 (24.4%) were placed in prone position by the physical therapy team. Only 2/94 (2%) eligible patients admitted in the first two weeks of the pandemic were ever documented in prone position. After launching our initiative, weekly frequency peaked at 13/28 (46.4%). Mean oxygen saturation was 91% prior to prone positioning versus 95.2% after ( p < 0.001) in those positioned by physical therapy. Conclusion A multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative increased frequency of prone positioning by proactively addressing barriers in knowledge, equipment, training, and information technology.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) or COVID-19 has grown to become a global pandemic. Although much has been learned about the virus, the complete impact is still not fully understood. This highly infectious pathogen can cause multiple complications in infected individuals, leading to impairments and functional limitations. To date, there has been limited literature available to describe the rehabilitation needs of patients with COVID-19. New York City (NYC) was initially identified as the United States epicenter, where various health system faced unique considerations when managing patients with COVID-19. The purpose of this article was to share the clinical perspectives of the acute physical therapy (PT) team working in one of the large health system in NYC. The report will describe the role PT played in the evaluation, assessment, and treatment of patients with COVID-19 as they navigated the acute hospital setting.