Tele-rehabilitation Versus Home Exercise Program in COVID-19

Is Tele-rehabilitation Superior to Home Exercise Program in the Pulmonary Rehabilitation of the Patients With COVID-19 With Post-intensive Care Syndrome? A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of the study is to investigate the potential effects of face-to-face supervised tele-rehabilitation to home exercise program on walking speed, handgrip strength, muscle endurance, quality of life, physical activity level and perceived respiratory disability in COVID-19 patients who hospitalized in ICU due to ARDS and discharged from hospital.

COVID-19 could cause respiratory distress in a minority of cases and requires intensive care and mechanical ventilation. When patients recover and are discharged from hospital, physical, cognitive and emotional complications known as post-intensive care syndrome is seen in the majority of patients and requires rehabilitation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a comprehensive intervention consists of assessment of patient, exercise training and education in order to improve physical and psychological condition of people with chronic respiratory disease. The patients with COVID-19 with post-intensive care syndrome will be randomized two groups: Tele-rehabilitation group and home exercise group. There will not be a non-exercising control group due to the ethical issues. The exercise program of both groups will be prescribed by a physiatrist based on the physical examination and the functional capacity of the patients. Tele-rehabilitation group will perform the exercise program 3 days/week for 10 weeks. One session will include aerobic, flexibility and strengthening exercises for lower and upper extremity and breathing exercise. The trainings will start with low-intensity exercises and intensity and duration of the exercises will progress according to the condition of the patient. Intensity of the exercises will be monitored by Borg scale based on dyspnea and exertion symptoms during the sessions. Home exercise group will perform the exercises at their home on their own, 3 days/week for 10 weeks. The patients will be trained about the individualised exercise program as the first session provided at the hospital. The physiotherapist will call the patients weekly, modifications in the exercise program will be made according to the patient's reports. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, within 1 week of completion the program, 6th months and 12th months following the rehabilitation.

There will be two groups. The first group will perform the exercises at their home under remote supervision (tele-rehabilitation group) and the second group will perform the exercises at their home on their own (home exercise group)

This group will perform the exercises at their home under remote supervision of a physiotherapist via internet connection.

This group will perform the exercises at their home on their own, the first exercise program will be given at hospital and the patients will be followed up regular weekly by phone call.

This is a field test evaluating submaximal aerobic capacity. The individuals are asked to walk as far as possible in a 30-meter corridor in 6 minutes. The technical standards are defined by European Respiratory Society and American Thoracic Society. Six-minute walking distance will be recorded. Higher walking distance shows better outcome. Minimal clinical difference is 20-30 meter in patients surviving acute respiratory distress syndrome

Short form - 36 measures health related quality of life. It is a self-reported survey that evaluates individual health status with eight parameters consisting of physical function, pain, role limitations attributed to physical problems, role limitations attributed to emotional problems, mental health, social functioning, energy/ vitality, general health perception. There is not a summary score, each section is scored between 0-100, 0 indicates the worst condition, 100 indicates the best.

Chair stand test will be used to evaluate strength and endurance of lower limbs. Patients will be asked to sit on a chair by crossing their hands over their chest and sit five times consecutively as fast as possible. The test will be started in the sitting position and terminated at the last standing position and the time will be recorded. The test will be carried out 2 times and the best grade obtained will be recorded

To assess physical function/performance, timed up and go test will be performed. It is an objective, reliable and simple test to evaluate balance and functional movement. The patient will be asked to get up from a chair, walk 3 m, turn around, walk back and sit on the chair again. The time will be recorded in seconds. The test will be started and ended when the patient sit on the chair with back supported. It predicts mortality.

St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire is a 50-item questionnaire with 76 weighted responses that is developed to measure health status/ quality of life in patients with airway diseases. It consists of 3 sections; symptoms (8 item), activity (16 item) and impact of the disease (26 item). Each of the 3 sections is scored separately and a summary total score is calculated using weights attached to each item in the range 0 to 100. 0 indicates best possible health status and 100 indicates worst possible health status. A minimum change in score of 4 units was established as clinically relevant. Turkish reliability of the questionnaire is exist.

The COPD Assessment Test evaluates 8 parameters for measuring the impact of COPD on a patient's life and how changes over time. It provides a scoring range of 0-40, higher score indicates worst health. Turkish validity and reliability of the test is exist.

The Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale is a simple method measuring perceived respiratory disability of COPD patients. It consists of 5 items from 0 to 4. 0 indicates normal, 4 indicates worst.

Hand grip strength is an indicator of overall muscle strength that predicts mortality in older patients and correlates with 6 minute walk distance in subjects with COPD exacerbation. Handgrip strength will be measured using a handheld dynamometer (JAMAR Plus+ electronic dynamometer, part number: 563213, serial number: 2019070814) according to the instructions of the American Society of Hand Therapists. Patients will be seated placing their arms by their sides with the elbow flexed to 90°, the forearm mid-prone, and the wrist in neutral position. Patients will be asked to grip the dynamometer with maximally to measure maximal grip strength (in kg) for the dominant hand with standard verbal encouragement. Three trials will be performed with a 30 sec rest between trials and the highest value will be recorded. The cut-off values of grip strength are 28.6 kg in men and 16.4 kg in women.

Inclusion Criteria: To be older than 18 years To be discharged from ICU with a diagnosis of ARDS or severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 To have ability to walk independently Exclusion Criteria: To have dementia or cognitive impairment, symptomatic psychiatric illness, hearing or visual impairment that might interfere to follow the instructions To have a severe co-morbidity that exercise is contraindicated

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