Pulmonary rehabilitation post COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic is caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The virus belongs to the Coronaviridae family and the key reservoir of the virus are bats. Since the outbreak of this disease across the globe, millions of people have been affected, resulting in mild to severe illness and significant mortality. COVID-19 is primarily transmitted from person to person through droplet infection, contact, or feco-oral routes. The host, environmental, and viral risk factors all play a role in COVID-19. The infection can manifest as a mild illness including upper respiratory infections and non-severe pneumonia, or as a severe pneumonia involving ARDS, multiple organ failure, and death. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, fatigue, dyspnea, anorexia, productive sputum, myalgia, sore throat, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, headache, vomiting, abdominal pain, loss of taste and smell. Management includes primary care, community care and acute care. In this article, we present a brief overview of the epidemiology, etiopathogenesis and general symptoms of SARS-CoV-2, as well as current understanding of pulmonary rehabilitation procedures routinely recommended to treat patients post COVID-19.