Early experiences of rehabilitation for individuals post-COVID to improve fatigue, breathlessness exercise capacity and cognition - A cohort study

Enya Daynes, Charlotte Gerlis, Emma Chaplin, Nikki Gardiner, Sally J Singh, Enya Daynes, Charlotte Gerlis, Emma Chaplin, Nikki Gardiner, Sally J Singh

Abstract

Individuals with lasting symptoms of COVID-19 should be offered a comprehensive recovery programme. 30 individuals (mean[SD] age 58[16]) that completed a 6 week, twice supervised rehabilitation programme demonstrated statistically significant improvements in exercise capacity, respiratory symptoms, fatigue and cognition. Participants improved by 112 m on the Incremental Shuttle Walking Test and 544 seconds on the Endurance Shuttle Walking Test. There were no serious adverse events recorded, and there were no dropouts related to symptom worsening. COVID-19 rehabilitation appears feasible and significantly improves clinical outcomes.

Keywords: COVID; breathlessness; exercise; fatigue; rehabilitation.

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Changes in Fatigue and Incremental Shuttle Walking Test for individuals completing a COVID-19 rehabilitation programme..

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Source: PubMed

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