Internationale Zeitschrift für Physikalische Medizin und Rehabilitation
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Experience of Rehabilitation for Patients with Mild and Moderate COVID-19 without Remote Systems

Satoshi Kamada, Kanta Fujimi, Etsuji Shiota, Taishi Harada, Masanao Ishizu, Tetsuya Hiyoshi, Atsuhiko Sakamoto, Takuaki Yamamoto

Aim: Experience of rehabilitation for patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 without remote systems. A retrospective observation study.

Background: Several studies have reported on rehabilitation for patients with COVID-19, with most studies using remote systems and focusing on patients with a severe condition. Few studies have examined rehabilitation for patients with mild or moderate conditions or considered patients’ backgrounds, including Activities of Daily Living (ADL), comorbidities, and destinations after discharge. The purpose of this study was to report an experience of rehabilitation for patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 without a remote system.

Methods: Seventeen patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 were investigated in this study (eight women and nine men). Patients’ average age at the time of admission was 65.9 years. Face-to-face rehabilitation was performed with patients who had low or decreased ability in Activities of Daily Living (ADL). We evaluated the number and rate of patients that received face- to-face rehabilitation and used the Barthel Index (BI) to evaluate patients’ Activities of Daily Living (ADL). The number and types of patients’ comorbidities and their destinations after discharge from hospital were also investigated.

Results: Five patients (29.4%) received face-to-face rehabilitation. Patients’ average BI score improved from 74.4 at admission to 84.4 at discharge. The average number of comorbidities was 2.5 per patient. These comorbidities included various diseases that negatively influenced immunity, walking ability, and Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Ten patients (58.8%) returned to their homes or a rest home after discharge.

Conclusion: Patients with COVID-19 are at high risk for decreased Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Face-to-face rehabilitation may be performed with more patients if there is appropriate protection against infection. Overall, face-to-face rehabilitation for patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 was meaningful considering the various backgrounds of patients including comorbidities. The practitioner (a rehabilitation doctor) performing face-to-face rehabilitation did not experience serious problems with their health.