The relationship between patient-specific factors and functional progression of COVID-19 survivors admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility.
Sean Dreyer, Christopher Lewis, Kyle Fahey and 6 others
PMID 38695509WHAT IT FOUND
Patients recovering from severe COVID-19 in inpatient rehab made significant gains in mobility, self-care, and cognition.
Older age predicted smaller gains in mobility and self-care, while those with more severe acute illness or lower starting function showed greater improvement.
Key findings
01The cohort made statistically significant improvements in mobility, self-care, and cognition scores from admission to discharge.
02Older age was associated with less functional improvement in mobility and self-care, but not in cognition.
03Patients with factors linked to more severe acute disease, such as intubation or pressor use, made greater functional improvements, likely because they entered rehabilitation with lower function.
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 retrospective and relied on electronic health records, which may have incomplete data. Findings are limited to three IRFs in a single large urban city, so they may not apply to rural or other regional rehabilitation settings. The study did not assess long-term outcomes or the development of long-COVID symptoms after discharge. Insufficient data prevented additional multivariate analyses to fully control for all patient-specific factors.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that patients with severe acute illness (like intubation) will have worse functional recovery. This study found they actually made greater gains in rehab, likely because they started with lower function, not because the intervention was more effective for them.