Abstract

Background: COVID-19 virus has caused widespread acute respiratory disease globally since 2020. Patients with evidence of lower respiratory illness either clinically or radiologically had moderate to severe illness. COVID respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms (psychological, cognitive etc.) noticed after 4-8 weeks of primary disease were called long COVID syndrome. Survivors of moderate to severe disease had a poor quality of life. The main objective of this retrospective study was to assess the role of outpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) done in moderate severe COVID-19 survivors who had symptoms after 4-8 weeks at Shaivam lung rehabilitation centre, Ahmedabad.

Method: We analyzed the impact of PR on 30 patient’s post COVID-19 who were willing to participate during the ongoing pandemic. It was an out-patient 6-8 weeks of programme designed to target respiratory and general muscle training, relaxation technique, nutritional counselling, occupational and psychological support. Patients were tested with of combination of self-assessment quality of life scale (adaptedfrom short form 36 questionnaire (SF 36), muscle training, dyspnoea scale and physical assessment. Standard objective assessment included oxygenation index (SpO₂/FiO₂ ratio), 6 Minutes Walk Distance (6 MWD), Modified Medical Research Council (MMRC) score, Manual Muscle Testing (MMT) along with Pulmonary Function testing (PFT). All these subjective and objective variables were tested pre and post-PR programme to assess the impact on defined parameters.

Results: From Dec 2020 to March 2022, we studied the impact of PR on 30 out of 55 patients fitting into the inclusion criteria. Significant benefit was noted in subjective (SLRQ score) and objective (6 MWD, MMRC, oxygenation, MMT) quality of life post-PR programme (p<.001). Improvement in spirometry was not statistically significant, indicating structural chronicity of COVID pulmonary fibrosis.

Conclusion: Pulmonary rehabilitation is safe, effective and feasible on an outpatient basis in COVID-19 survivors of illness with poor quality of life. Further research is required to prove its widespread benefit in such patients.

Keywords: Pulmonary rehabilitation; Cognitive; Respiratory disease; Parameters; Retrospective