Rehabilitation Needs of Patients with Covid-19 in Acute Phase

Abstract

is a viral infection caused by 2], that primarily affects the lower respiratory tract and causes a number of symptoms described as flu-like, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, myalgia and fatigue [1]; in severe cases pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), sepsis and septic shock can occur, up to the death of the patients [3]. Treatment of the disease generally consists of managing clinical symptoms and in case of more severe complications, such as ARDS, which develops in more than 40% of hospitalized patients, 10% require transfer to ICU (Intensive Care Unit) [4]. Since this type of infection is extremely recent, there are only few studies on the rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19, and among them we mention recommendations [5] published in China, a very recent international document [6], and an Italian position paper [7]. This article is a narrative literature review and the papers were identified via a search of PubMed, Scopus and Pedro