Rehabilitation interventions aid post-COVID-19 condition: Study

Standardized rehabilitation interventions are associated with improvements in functional exercise capacity in patients with post-COVID-19 condition (PCC), according to a review published online Sept. 19 in JAMA Network Open.

Dimitra V. Pouliopoulou, from Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to assess whether respiratory training and exercise-based rehabilitation interventions are associated with improved functional exercise capacity and improved quality of life in adults with PCC. The analysis included 14 randomized controlled studies (1,244 patients)

The researchers found that rehabilitation interventions were associated with improvements in functional exercise capacity with moderate-certainty evidence among seven of the trials (standardized mean difference, −0.56). Compared with the current standard of care, these improvements had a 99 percent posterior probability of superiority, although there was significant uncertainty and imprecision regarding the probability of experiencing exercise-induced adverse events (odds ratio, 1.68; 95 percent credible interval, 0.32 to 9.94).

"The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that rehabilitation interventions are associated with improvements in functional exercise capacity, dyspnea, and quality of life, with a high probability of improvement compared with the current standard care," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties the pharmaceutical and health care technology industries.

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