This is a two-phase multicenter study that will be conducted in collaboration with five university hospitals, in order to offer telehealth services at home in patients with COVID-19, after hospital discharge. At the first phase an observational study aims to investigate the physical and psychological status of patients after hospital discharge and to provide support and information how to cope with symptoms (early fatigue, muscle weakness, eating difficulties, etc). At the second phase a randomized control trial study will evaluate a 6-month telerehabilitation program for 100 adults (aged 20-65 years) diagnosed with COVID-19, who completed the first phase of this study. At this phase, the study will randomize (1:1 allocation) 100 male and female who were hospitalized with COVID-19 to either a 24-week home-based telerehabilitation program versus usual care. The intervention program includes individualized prescribed endurance exercises, low intensity aerobic exercises, upper and lower extremity strength training, breathing exercises as well as a three times per month online support with 1:1 supervision via video conferencing with an expert physiotherapist.
This is a two-phase multicenter study that will be conducted in collaboration with five
university hospitals in order to offer home telehealth services in patients with COVID-19,
after hospital discharge.
At the first phase, an observational study aims to investigate the physical and psychological
status of patients after hospital discharge and to provide support and information how to
cope with symptoms (early fatigue, muscle weakness, eating difficulties, etc).
We aim to support 200 patients with age 20-65 years, between a 1-8 week period after hospital
discharge, providing an e-book with body exercises, breathing exercises and nutritional
support, additionally to four telehealth consultation sessions.
At the second phase, a single blinded randomized control trial study will evaluate a 6-month
home telerehabilitation program for 100 diagnosed with COVID-19 adults (aged 20-65 years),
who completed the first phase of this study. The second phase will randomize (1:1 allocation)
100 male and female who were hospitalized with COVID-19 to either a 24-week home-based
telerehabilitation program versus usual care.
The intervention includes individualized prescribed upper and lower extremity endurance
exercises, aerobic exercises, upper and lower extremity strength training, breathing
exercises as well as a three times per month online support with 1:1 supervision via video
conferencing with an expert physiotherapist.
The usual care group will be advised to follow the instructions of the e-book for any
possible exercise training. Three times per month with 1:1 video conferencing, an expert
physiotherapist will record any possible exercise with no further recommendations or support.
Changes from baseline in physical activity levels, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical
performance, lower limb strength, anxiety and depression and health-related quality of life
will be assessed at 3 and 6 months for both groups. All functional tests in the second phase
of the study will be performed via supervision teleconference for all the participants with
an expert physiotherapist. Findings from this project will contribute to the field of
telerehabilitation in patients with COVID-19 after hospital discharge and will provide
critical preliminary data for the design and implementation of a larger, randomized control
trial assessing the impact of telerehabilitation on long-term clinical outcomes following
infection or re-infection from coronaviruses.
Device: Telerehabilitation
The treatment arm will be given up to 1-hour breathing exercises, aerobic and resistive training exercises administered by a physiotherapist via a telerehabilitation device every 10 days for a six-month period.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Male and female adults with age from 20 to 65 years hospitalized due COVID-19
infection. Able to give consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- the presence of mental illness, any physical disability that makes difficult to
mobilize patients, severe heart disease, severe musculoskeletal pain, vascular
aneurysms, severe neurological condition, pregnancy
Clinical exercise Physiology and rehabilitation research laboratory
Lamia, Greece