Effects of physical rehabilitation interventions on exercise performance, dyspnea, and health-related quality of life in acute and post-acute COVID-19 patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Mansueto Gomes Neto, William Suzart Coutinho de Araujo, Ana Carolina Pereira Nunes Pinto, Micheli Bernardone Saquetto, Bruno Prata Martinez, Vinicius Afonso Gomes, Carlos Brites, Vitor Oliveira Carvalho
Author Information
Mansueto Gomes Neto: Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Bahia - UFBA, Salvador, Brazil. ORCID
William Suzart Coutinho de Araujo: Physiotherapy Research Group, UFBA, Salvador, Brazil. ORCID
Ana Carolina Pereira Nunes Pinto: Biological and Health Sciences Department, Universidade Federal do Amap�� (UNIFAP), Amap��, Brazil.
Micheli Bernardone Saquetto: Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Bahia - UFBA, Salvador, Brazil.
Bruno Prata Martinez: Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Bahia - UFBA, Salvador, Brazil.
Vinicius Afonso Gomes: Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Bahia - UFBA, Salvador, Brazil.
Carlos Brites: Physical Therapy Department, Federal University of Bahia - UFBA, Salvador, Brazil.
Vitor Oliveira Carvalho: Physiotherapy Research Group, UFBA, Salvador, Brazil.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of physical rehabilitation interventions provided directly (face to face) and by telerehabilitation on exercise performance, dyspnea, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in acute and post-acute COVID-19patients. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, different electronic databases were searched up to January 2023. Mean difference (MD), (standardized mean difference (SMD) were calculated. RESULTS: 34 studies (2214 patients) met the study criteria. Physical interventions may improve aerobic capacity in acute COVID-19 (SMD 1.7; 95% CI 0.37, 2.8) and in post-acute COVID-19 participants (MD 0.4; 95% CI 0.1, 07) compared to usual care for acute and pos-acute COVID-19patients, respectively. Physical interventions may also improve dyspnea in acute (SMD -1.4; 95% CI -0.8, -0.01) and in post-acute COVID-19 participants (MD -0.4; 95% CI -0.7, -0.2) compared to usual care. Physical interventions may result in an improvement in HRQoL (physical domain) (SMD 0.6; 95% CI 0.3) in post-acute COVID-19 participants compared to usual care in pos-acute COVID-19patients. DISCUSSION: The results support that physical rehabilitation interventions improve aerobic capacity and dyspnea in acute and post-COVID-19patients. Moreover, physical interventions improve physical domain in HRQoL.
