The effect of comprehensive rehabilitation on post-COVID-19 syndrome

Abstract

Abstract Background The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a comprehensive rehabilitation program on quality of life, anxiety, fatigue, and functional status in post-COVID-19 patients admitted to a specialized rehabilitation unit. The secondary objective of the study was to compare the differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. Results The single-center prospective study was conducted. Demographics, comorbidities, vaccination, clinical signs and symptoms, and oxygen saturation were assessed. The rehabilitative protocol was created considering the condition of patients, age, the direct impact of COVID-19 on the systems, sequelae, severity of disease, and comorbidities. The comprehensive rehabilitation program through a multidisciplinary team is applied in a stepwise graded manner. The Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) The Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC), the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), the Modified Borg Scale, post-COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Barthel Index (BI) were used. In total, 39 patients (61.5% men, age 59.7.0 ± 15.6 years) participated in the study. They were discharged home after 37.5 ± 17.6 days stay in the hospital. The most frequently reported persistent symptoms were dyspnea (76.9%), fatigue (69.2%), and myalgia (64.1%). There was a statistically significant improvement in baseline outcomes including BI, HADS, PCFS, FSS, MMRC, Modified Borg Scale, FAC, O2 support, and NHP after the comprehensive rehabilitation program (p < 0.001). The vaccinated patients had older age, high BMI, and shorter duration of rehabilitation (p = 0.003, p = 0.040, p = 0.022, respectively), while unvaccinated patients had higher BI, FSS, PCFS, and FAC. Conclusion The comprehensive rehabilitation program improves quality of life, reduces fatigue, anxiety, and depression, and regains function in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome. In addition, vaccinated patients had older ages and shorter duration of rehabilitation, while unvaccinated patients achieved higher functional status and had significantly higher levels of fatigue at discharge.