Functional characteristics and subjective disease perception in patients with COVID-19 two months after hospital discharge.
Kaja Teraž, Boštjan Šimunič, Manca Peskar and 5 others
PMID 37546579WHAT IT FOUND
Two months after discharge, post-COVID patients given only general activity materials did not clearly recover physically or mentally.
Some frailty, sarcopenia and cognitive scores improved, but walking, strength and breathing did not.
Key findings
01In 39 patients tested at both time points, physical performance and clinical tests did not change.
02The Edmonton total symptom score, SARC-CalF score and MoCA score improved, but 15 of 39 patients had worsened or unchanged MoCA scores.
03Patients rated their physical condition 18.1 percentage points higher at the second time point, but the paper did not find this difference statistically significant; mental state was almost unchanged.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 39 of the 43 patients were tested at both time points, so the analysis is based on the smaller group. The study was single-center and small, and it did not measure patients before or during infection, so changes cannot be separated from COVID-19 alone. Patients were not enrolled in a specific rehabilitation program, and all received general materials, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The MoCA result needs caution because 15 of 39 patients worsened or remained unchanged, and repeated testing can affect scores. Symptom monitoring was incomplete: only 20 of 40 participants had recorded symptoms or changes in well-being.
Declared interests
The study was financed within the ARRS Research Program (P5-0381), Kinesiology of Quality of Life. MP and UM received European Union Horizon 2020 funding under grant agreement No. 952401.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that self-rehabilitation with general activity materials restored function. Physical performance and clinical tests did not change, and 15 of 39 patients had worsened or unchanged MoCA scores at two months.