Do Patients With COVID-19 Benefit from Rehabilitation? Functional Outcomes of the First 100 Patients in a COVID-19 Rehabilitation Unit.
Violaine Piquet, Cédric Luczak, Fabien Seiler and 5 others
PMID 33548208WHAT IT FOUND
Post-acute COVID patients in a specialized rehab unit improved motor function and independence during a 10-day stay.
However, at discharge, their daily living skills remained lower than before infection, and grip strength stayed below normal values. Severe cases showed similar or greater functional gains.
Key findings
01Barthel Index scores improved from admission to discharge, but remained lower than pre-infection levels at discharge.
02Sit-to-stand frequency and grip strength increased significantly, though grip strength remained below normal values at discharge.
03Patients with prior ICU stays or longer acute care durations showed similar or greater improvements in grip strength and transfer scores compared to those with milder courses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was uncontrolled, lacking a comparison group to determine if the observed improvements were due to rehabilitation or natural recovery. There was a high proportion of missing functional data due to rapid patient turnover. Respiratory data were incomplete, and spirometry was not performed due to infection control concerns. The study population was specific to those stable enough for rehab, excluding the most critically ill patients.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the observed improvements were caused solely by the rehabilitation program. Since the study was uncontrolled and lacked a comparison group, natural recovery over time cannot be ruled out as a contributing factor to the functional gains.