Rehabilitation for Patients with COVID-19: A Japanese Single-center Experience

The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics and efficiency of rehabilitation for patients diagnosed with moderate-to-severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

We retrospectively assessed the medical records of patients with COVID-19 who underwent rehabilitation for early mobilization and to maintain activities of daily living at our hospital between April 21 and August 20, 2020. The following patient data were evaluated: age, sex, diseases, and the total number of sessions completed by patients with severe COVID-19 in the intensive care unit (ICU) and by patients with moderate disease in the general COVID-19 wards. The number of daily sessions performed by physiotherapists was also evaluated.

Of 161 patients with COVID-19 admitted during the study period, 95 underwent rehabilitation (78 in the general COVID-19 wards and 17 in the ICU). These 95 COVID-19 patients completed 1035 rehabilitation sessions in total (882 in the general ward and 153 in the ICU). Polymerase chain reaction test results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were positive for 79 patients on the initiation of rehabilitation. Moreover, 86 sessions were supervised remotely, thereby reducing the duration of the medical staff's stay in the SARS-CoV-2 isolation area. Patients with COVID-19 in the ICU received significantly more daily physiotherapy sessions than general ward patients (P<0.001). Each physiotherapist performed, on average, 4.6 sessions daily, with 4.3 daily sessions being performed wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

COVID-19 rehabilitation required more efforts as wearing PPE was necessary for most cases although tried with remote rehabilitation in some cases. Overall, a longer rehabilitation period was needed for ICU patients.