Personalized rehabilitation of patients after COVID-19: the experience of the Republic of Mari El

Abstract

Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, not only the diagnosis and treatment, but also rehabilitation of patients at different times after the disease became relevant.The aim. To develop and analyze the efficiency of personalized hospital-based rehabilitation programs for COVID-19 patients.Methods. Retrospective analysis of medical records of 109 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the rehabilitation department. A team of physiotherapist, pulmonologist and psychiatrist used simulators (bicycle ergometer, treadmill, motomed, and stepper), physiotherapeutic exercises, training of respiratory muscles with Threshold IMT (Philips, Netherlands) simulators, psychotherapy, and physiotherapy.Results. A total of 109 patients, 59 (54%) men and 50 (46%) women, aged 56.54 ± 11.73 уears suffered from moderate (41%), severe (40%) and very severe (19%) COVID-19. 25% of the patients had concomitant diabetes mellitus, 65% – arterial hypertension, and 22% – ischemic heart disease. Patients with 5 rehabilitation points (5RP) on Rehabilitation Routing Scale walked a median distance of 110 [40; 248] m in the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), 4RP – 300 [240; 350] m in 6MWT, 3RP — 400 [360; 431] m in 6MWT. The difference in 6MWT distance was significant only between 4RP and 3RP groups (p < 0.001). By the end of rehabilitation program, 6MWT increased by 90 m in 5RP group, by 120 m – in 4RP group, and by 89 m in patients with 3RP (p = 0.036 between RPs and 4RP groups; р = 0.007 between 3RP and 5RP groups, respectively). SpO2 was over 95% in all patients by the end of rehabilitation.Conclusion. Comorbid patients after severe COVID-19 demonstrated better rehabilitation potential seen as improvement of exercise tolerance and respiratory status. The original personalized rehabilitation programs improve significantly impaired body functions early on after severe COVID-19.