Outcome of survivors of COVID-19 in the intermediate phase of recovery: A case report.
Marelee Fourie, Heleen van Aswegen
PMID 35402744WHAT IT FOUND
Two adults recovering from COVID-19 received supportive care, oxygen or CPAP, and physiotherapy packages including inspiratory muscle training, walking or cycling, resistance exercise, chest clearance and functional training.
Their walk distance and breathing measures improved; one returned to work, one was considered fit for work.
Key findings
01Mrs K's peak expiratory flow rate and six-minute walk test distance improved over 7 months, and she achieved 88% predicted six-minute walk distance at final assessment.
02Mr M achieved 80% of age-predicted six-minute walk distance and 98% predicted peak expiratory flow off oxygen at final assessment, with forced vital capacity improving from 47% to 69%.
03Both patients received progressive outpatient physiotherapy with inspiratory muscle training, walking or cycling, and resistance exercise; Mr M also received chest clearance and functional training. Mrs K returned to work, and Mr M was considered fit for return to work before discharge.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a report of two patients, not a trial, so it cannot show that physiotherapy caused the improvements. The two patients received overlapping packages of supportive care, oxygen or CPAP, inspiratory muscle training, walking or cycling, resistance exercise, chest clearance and functional training, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Mrs K and Mr M had different diagnoses, severity and final oxygen needs, and Mr M still used low-flow oxygen intermittently and slept with CPAP, so the cases cannot be treated as one recovery pattern.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these improvements as proof that inspiratory muscle training, walking or cycling, resistance exercise, chest clearance or functional training caused recovery. The paper reports only two patients, not a trial, and the patients received supportive care, oxygen or CPAP, inspiratory muscle training, walking or cycling, resistance exercise, chest clearance and functional training together, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.