Effects of Telerehabilitation After Discharge in COVID-19 Survivors

Overview

Effects of telerehabilitation after discharge on quality of Life, psychosocial status, physical activity, daily activities of living, and sleep quality in patients treated as inpatients with the diagnosis of COVID-19 will be investigated. Post-discharge physical activity level, psychosocial status, sleep quality, quality of life, daily activities of living, and quality of life will be determined. The effects of exercise interventions in online-based physiotherapist monitoring will be provided. Monthly comparisons of physical activity, quality of life, depression, and sleep quality responses using telerehabilitation for three months following COVID-19 will be investigated.

The new type of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has progressed rapidly in our country and around the world and has caused a global health emergency, requiring the implementation of restrictive measures. While the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still under investigation, the available information points to wild animals sold illegally in the Wuhan Seafood Wholesale Market. Common symptoms of infection are fever, cough, and dyspnea. In more severe cases, pneumonia, severe acute respiratory tract infection, renal failure, and even death may occur. Up-to-date information about physiotherapy and rehabilitation applications on COVID-19 disease is limited to positioning and mobilization in the acute phase of the disease. Current guidelines and protocols state that airway clearance techniques, respiratory exercises and practices using assistive devices, exercise training and respiratory muscle training should not be applied in the acute period. Tele-medicine is a clinical practice that connects the patient to healthcare professionals through electronic platforms, potentially improving the self-management of patients and allowing the care of patients with limited access to health services. In these days when staying at home is recommended to minimize exposure and contamination risk, telerehabilitation can be considered as an advantage, using information and communication technologies to provide remote rehabilitation services to individuals at home. It has been reported that with telerehabilitation, improvements have been achieved in health outcomes and quality of life, such as reducing hospitalization rates and re-admissions, ensuring early discharge, facilitating access to rehabilitation services, decreasing costs, and ensuring early return to work. Regular physical activity and exercise provide many health benefits, such as increasing cardiorespiratory fitness and reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Increasing cardiorespiratory fitness may play a preventive and facilitating role against respiratory infections. This may prevent or help treat pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which develops with COVID-19 and causes respiratory failure. It has been stated that there is a significant decrease in the level of physical activity globally in the period of social isolation, which is accepted worldwide during COVID-19 pandemic. Decrease in the level of physical activity and increase in sedentary behavior due to isolation limitations may cause rapid deterioration and premature death in cardiovascular health in a population with high cardiovascular risk. Considering that short-term (1-4 weeks) inactivity is associated with adverse effects on cardiovascular function and structure, and increased cardiovascular risk factors, it appears to be a clinically relevant intervention to promote the health benefits of home-based physical activity programs. In this study, a brochure created by physiotherapists for post-COVID-19 patients will be sent electronically. The number of repetitions and/or sets of the exercises in the brochure will be increased weekly by the physiotherapists according to the tolerance of the patients. Physical activity levels will be questioned at the beginning and at the end of each month to be maintained for three months in total. The need for isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic creates an unprecedented, stressful situation for many people for an unknown period of time. In addition to increasing the level of anxiety and depression, this may have negative effects on sleep quality. Since sleep plays a main role in emotion regulation, sleep disturbances may have direct consequences on emotional functioning. Therefore, it was planned to evaluate depression and sleep in individuals who survived COVID-19 at the beginning and at the end of each month, for a total of three months. It will be possible to determine whether there is a relationship between depression and sleep efficiency with exercise recommendations that will be given in a controlled manner by a physiotherapist via telerehabilitation and increase according to the patient's tolerance. It has been reported that patients hospitalized with acute respiratory distress syndrome have post-traumatic stress disorder at a rate of 22% -24%, depression at a rate of 26% -33%, and general anxiety at a rate of 38% -44% even after 2 years. It has been reported that these are concerns that may accompany a serious decrease in quality of life and function after COVID-19. Therefore, it is planned to assess quality of life at the beginning and at the end of each month for a total of three months in individuals who survived COVID-19. Post-discharge physical activity level, psychosocial status, sleep quality, quality of life, daily activities of living, and quality of life will be determined. The effect of exercise interventions in online-based physiotherapist monitoring will be provided. Monthly comparisons of physical activity, quality of life, depression, and sleep quality responses using telerehabilitation for three months following COVID-19 will be investigated.