European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
Systematic rapid "living" review on rehabilitation needs due to COVID-19: update to March 31st, 2020.
The outbreak of COVID-19 epidemics has challenged the provision of health care worldwide, highlighting the main flaws of some national health systems with respect to their capacity to cope with the needs of frail subjects. People experiencing disability due to COVID-19 express specific rehabilitation needs that deserve a systematic evidence-based approach. The aim of this article is to provide the rehabilitation community with updates on the latest scientific literature on rehabilitation needs due to COVID-19. The first rapid "living" review will present the results of a systematic search performed up to March 31st, 2020. ⋯ All selected papers were based on previous literature and not on the current COVID-19 pandemic. Main messages included: 1) early rehabilitation should be granted to inpatients with COVID-19; 2) people with restricted mobility due to quarantine or lockdown should receive exercise programs to reduce the risk of frailty, sarcopenia, cognitive decline and depression; 3) telerehabilitation may represent the first option for people at home. Further updates are warranted in order to characterize the emerging disability in COVID-19 survivors and the adverse effects on the health of chronically disabled people.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
Rehabilitation and respiratory management in the acute and early post-acute phase. "Instant paper from the field" on rehabilitation answers to the COVID-19 emergency.
COVID-19 is a respiratory infectious disease that can cause respiratory, physical and psychological long-term dysfunctions in patients. First recommendations on respiratory management were published, but they were not based on the specific needs due to COVID-19. In this paper we share the early experiences from the clinical field in Northern Italy, where the epidemic started in February. ⋯ Some specific problems are described, including severe muscle weakness and fatigue, joint stiffness, dysphagia, (neuro)psychological problems, impaired functioning concerning mobility, activities of daily life and work. A lot is yet unknown and patients can experience long-term consequences as we know from the literature on the postintensive care syndrome, but COVID-19 has unique features to be investigated and understood. As a colleague stated during the Covinar: this is a marathon, not a sprint….
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Jun 2020
First impact of COVID-19 on services and their preparation. "Instant paper from the field" on rehabilitation answers to the COVID-19 emergency.
This paper reports the immediate impact of the epidemic on rehabilitation services in Italy, the first country in Europe hit by COVID-19. In a country with almost 5000 Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine physicians, the webinar had 230 live viewers (4.5%), and more than 8900 individual visualizations of the recorded version. The overall inadequate preparation of the rehabilitation system to face a sudden epidemic was clear, and similar to that of the acute services. ⋯ Rehabilitation professionals needed support, but also acted properly, again similarly to what happened in the acute wards. The typical needs of rehabilitation, such as human and physical contacts, but also social interactions including patient, team, family and caregivers, appeared clearly in the current unavoidable need of being suppressed. These notes could serve the preparation of other services worldwide.