Rehabilitation of Adult Patients with Pulmonological Manifestations of Long COVID: a Review

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The most common symptoms in patients who have had a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) are associated with pulmonary lesions (shortness of breath, chest pain, cough) and the same complaints persist in the majority of those suffering from long COVID the occurrence and prevalence of which in the population is inextricably linked with the number recovered from COVID-19.
 AIM. To study the current state of the problem of diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with pulmonological manifestations of long COVID at the stage of a specialized rehabilitation hospital in order to formulate basic practical recommendations for the management of this category of patients.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS. During the period from January 1, 2021 to December 1, 2022, we performed a systematic search of the MEDLINE, Cyberleninka, and eLIBRARY.RU databases on the topic of pulmonary manifestations of long COVID and methods of their rehabilitation in adult patients that gave 678 matches. After further filtering steps according to the methodology outlined in the PRIZMA guidelines, we selected 60 publications for the final analysis.
 RESULTS. Pulmonary manifestations of long COVID, including, first of all, shortness of breath, rank second after fatigue in terms of frequency of occurrence in long COVID. Diagnostic findings include radiologic pulmonary tissue changes recorded in a proportion of patients under one year, restrictive abnormalities on spirometry, and impaired pulmonary diffusion capacity. Many patients who have had COVID-19 recover quite quickly, but some of them have a long-term symptom complex of dyspnea and physical fatigue, for which rehabilitation in a specialized centers is indicated.
 The most effective treatment is possible with the involvement of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team in the rehabilitation process and the appointment of rehabilitation programs created in accordance with the conceptual basis of respiratory rehabilitation, including, first of all, a wide range of methods of therapeutic physical culture.
 The most effective treatment is possible by involving a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team in the rehabilitation process and prescribing rehabilitation programs designed in accordance with the conceptual framework of respiratory rehabilitation, including, above all, a wide range of therapeutic physical education techniques.
 CONCLUSION. Current knowledge of the clinical picture, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation measures in long COVID is constantly reassessed and expanded. This literature review gives an analysis of research papers focused on the treatment and rehabilitation of pulmonary manifestations in adults, combining the etiopathogenetic and syndromic approaches characteristic of the “classical Russian therapeutic” and, closest to it, the “German” schools. The information extracted both from documents published by World Health Organization (WHO) and from local Russian and European clinical guidelines will allow a specialist engaged in the rehabilitation of adults with pulmonary manifestations of long COVID to create an effective and personalized individual rehabilitation plan for each patient.