Physiotherapy management for COVID-19 in the acute hospital setting: clinical practice recommendations

COVID-19: maintaining essential rehabilitation services across the care continuum

“…Guidance for the delivery of rehabilitation during COVID-19 is available for physiotherapy but not yet all rehabilitation professions. 3 Several regions reported fewer non-urgent rehabilitation patient admissions in order to expand acute care bed capacity. Lengths of inpatient stays for patients who receive rehabilitation are now shorter in several countries including Belgium, India, Tanzania and the UK.…”

Ultra-shortwave diathermy - a new purported treatment for management of patients with COVID-19

“…In response to the urgent need for clinical guidance worldwide, an international guideline describing the role of physiotherapy management for COVID-19 in the acute hospital setting has been recently published (Thomas et al, 2020). In China physiotherapy is still a developing profession, and consequently, recommendations for "rehabilitation" interventions for patients with COVID-19 in China were propagated by rehabilitation physicians (China Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2020a).…”

Significant demands on healthcare resources during the COVID crisis

“…The respiratory infection associated with COVID-19 is mostly associated with fever and dry, non-productive cough as mild symptoms. With increasingly severe symptoms following additional increasing oxygen requirement, difficulty in breathing, severe productive coughing and changes in lung tissue consistent with consolidation [4]. Some patients subjectively describe the experience of breathing with COVID-19 as shards of glass in the lungs.…”

“…It is imperative to make sure respiratory techniques do not generate high levels of aerosolized droplets that spread widely and increase the risk of transmission of respiratory viruses to health professionals [5]. Therapists providing respiratory care to patients need to use appropriate personal protective equipment including N95/P2 masks, fluid resistant long-sleeved gowns, googles/ face shields and gloves as [4].…”

“…In general, re-usable respiratory equipment should be avoided. Use only the maximal needed equipment for single-patient use or material which can be properly decontaminated [4]. Generally a wellconsidered plan for mobilization and exercises is essential.…”