Effects of Physiotherapy on Rehabilitation and Quality of Life in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Review of Findings from Key Studies Published 2020-2022

Abstract

The estimated percentage of individuals with COVID-19 due to infection with SARS-CoV-2 in need of hospitalization mostly increases proportionally with age, reaching almost 10% for those older than 60 years. Among hospitalized patients, one-fifth require treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiorgan failure, or hypoxemic respiratory insufficiency. Patients with moderate and severe COVID-19 who were hospitalized during the early stages of the pandemic and who continue to be hospitalized report fatigue, muscle weakness, joint stiffness, reduced mobility, increased risk of falls, and impaired quality of life. Physiotherapy is recognized to be important in the rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. The current physiotherapy guidelines and recommendations for individuals with COVID-19, which include treatment methods and outcome measures for evaluation of the effects on respiratory and physical function and quality of life, are those established from the pre-COVID-19 era. The available extant scientific literature mainly reported the effect of physiotherapy in patients with COVID-19 in the acute, hospitalization courses of the disease, while there is a lack of quality primary, experimental studies on the effects of physiotherapy in rehabilitation of post-COVID-19 patients after hospitalization. This review aims to present an update on the effects of physiotherapy on rehabilitation and quality of life in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and the findings from key studies published between 2020 and 2022.

Analysis and Report of the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Evaluation Activity in Patients Admitted to Acute Care Setting: An Observational Retrospective Study

“…We then analyzed the single clinical conditions most frequently encountered during the PRM consultations. MSK and neurological disorders were the most frequent, with femoral neck fractures [32] being the clinical condition for which we were most frequently asked for an evaluation, followed by ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, bed confinement status for internal diseases, COVID-19-related pneumonia [33], and subarachnoid hemorrhage, coherently with the above-mentioned data sorted by clinical condition. Patients affected by COVID-19-related pneumonia had a higher mean age and were affected by three or more comorbidities in 46% of cases, thus confirming the SARS-CoV-2 virus's tendency to determine more severe clinical pictures in immunocompromised patients who are of an older age with comorbidities [26,27].…”