The pulmonary rehabilitation effect on long covid-19 syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in improving dyspnea, fatigue, physical activity, quality of life, anxiety and depression in patients with Long COVID-19 (LC). The impact of PR on LC and a comparison of face-to-face and telerehabilitation approaches was explored. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis followed PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO. A literature search included PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library until January 2023. No language filters were applied. Randomized controlled trials, non-randomized controlled trials, and observational studies were included. The risk of bias was assessed using appropriate tools. Descriptive analysis and meta-analysis were performed. Forest plots presented results. Statistical analyses were conducted using the Metafor Package in R v.3.4.2. RESULTS/FINDINGS: This systematic review and meta-analysis included 16 studies on PR in LC patients. A total of 1027 adults were included. The studies varied in design, with seven observational studies, three quasi-experimental studies, and six randomized controlled trials. Dyspnea, physical function, quality of life, psychological state, and fatigue were assessed as outcomes. The review found that pulmonary rehabilitation had a significant positive effect on dyspnea, physical function, quality of life (both global and physical domain), anxiety, and depression. However, the effect on fatigue was not significant. Heterogeneity was observed in some analyses, and publication bias was found in certain outcomes. Age and study design were identified as potential moderators. Both face-to-face and telerehabilitation interventions improved the studied outcomes, with only differences in the physical domain of quality of life favoring the face-to-face group. IMPLICATIONS ON PHYSIOTHERAPY PRACTICE: PR improved dyspnea, physical function, quality of life, and psychological state in LC patients, but not fatigue. Face-to-face and telerehabilitation have similar effects, except for physical quality of life.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation in SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Post-Acute Patients.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) was initially developed for the management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and is now recognized as a core management of COVID-19 patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the efficacy of PR in patients with post-acute COVID-19 infection. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, the Web of Science (WoS), and the Cochrane Library from their inceptions until October 2022, and randomized controlled trials and observational studies were considered. The outcomes measured included dyspnea, physical function, and quality of life. RESULTS: Eleven studies including 677 participants with post-acute COVID-19 were included in this analysis. From a qualitative point of view and analyzing the studies separately, PR improves dyspnea, physical function, and quality of life in patients with post-acute COVID-19. However, in pooling the data of all the studies, no significant changes pre-postintervention, compared to the control, were found among the experimental studies included in the analysis in any outcome measures, due to the high heterogeneity between the studies, as well as no significant improvements being found in the observational studies. A subgroup analysis revealed significant differences in all the included outcomes. Future studies should include the same scale to assess the actual efficacy of PR. CONCLUSION: From a qualitative analysis point of view, PR is effective in improving physical function, reducing dyspnea, and improving quality of life in patients with post-acute COVID-19. However, an exploratory meta-analysis was performed to evaluate, by subgroups, the efficacy of PR, and positive results were found in favor of PR.

The Comparison of High-Intensity Interval Training Versus Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft: A Systematic Review of Recent Studies.

Currently, no international consensus on cardiac rehabilitation exists, leading to great variability in the intensity recommendations for training programs for cardiac patients, including those undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). While some countries prefer the high-intensity interval training (HIIT) method to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, other countries opt for moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT). The aim of this systematic review was to compare the effects of HIIT and MICT on aerobic fitness and quality of life (QoL) in patients undergoing CABG with the intention of providing support for a consensus on exercise therapy. METHODS: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted using the online publication databases PubMed, the Cochrane Library and the Bibliothèque nationale du Luxembourg (BnL) covering the last ten years to July 2022. Relevant identified studies respecting the inclusion/exclusion criteria were selected, screened and extracted by four reviewers. Furthermore, the methodological quality of the clinical trials was assessed using the PEDro scale, which was reinforced using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Trials (RoB2) for the evaluation of the risk of bias to provide more detail in the evaluation. The certainty of the evidence analysis was established using different levels of evidence in accordance with the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. RESULTS: A total of 379 patients from five RCTs diagnosed with coronary artery disease, including patients undergoing CABG, performed aerobic exercise over different time periods and were assessed based on peakVO2, VO2max and QoL. Overall, both training methods provided improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life, with greater changes in HIIT groups. CONCLUSION: Both trainings methods provide improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness and QoL, with greater increases from HIIT. The moderate quality of evidence supports the use of HIIT and MICT to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and QoL.

Spanish experience on the efficacy of airways clearance techniques in SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) at intensive care unit: An editorial and case report.

COVID-19 pandemic did not impact all countries in the same way, and in Spain, the percentage of intensive care unit (ICU) and the mortality rate patients has been very high. The present work aims to present the first case of the new Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) on March 23, 2020, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, of a patient on Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (IMV) affected by acute pneumonia which was treated by airway clearance techniques (ACT) thinking that she was not infected with COVID-19, since the first polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was negative. The subject presented septic shock, hypoxemic encephalopathy, and seizures. Right lung base consolidation and pleural effusion were visible in the echography. The thorax x-ray presented subcutaneous emphysema and pleural effusion in the right base and an alveolar-interstitial opacity pattern in the left. Bilateral crackles and rhonchus were evident in the right lung during the lung auscultation. The airway clearance protocol comprises Cough Assist (CA) and chest compressions. The variables collected were the ventilatory parameters, blood gas analysis, and thorax x-ray description. ACT protocol improves gas exchange and expands consolidated lung areas in this atypical clinical case presented. At that time, this type of treatment was not performed on patients affected by COVID-19, and the next day we found that the patient had improved, coinciding with the second PCR test, which was positive.

Diaphragmatic Mobility Loss in Subjects With Moderate to Very Severe COPD May Improve After In-Patient Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: The diaphragm changes in COPD lead to functional inefficiency correlated to lung function loss. Muscle-fiber shortening follows lung hyperinflation, which results in a chronic mechanical disadvantage that impairs diaphragmatic mobility that worsens in COPD exacerbations. OBJECTIVES: To correlate the diaphragmatic mobility loss to COPD severity by using M-mode ultrasonography and to verify if the diaphragmatic mobility can improve after in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation. METHODS: We used M-mode ultrasonography to access diaphragmatic mobility during normal breathing or breathing at rest and deep inspiration in 52 subjects with moderate to very severe COPD who underwent pulmonary rehabilitation and 16 healthy subjects. Lung function test, arterial blood gas analysis, and a 6-min walk test were also performed. The measurements were performed at rehabilitation admission and discharge. RESULTS: We screened 30 subjects with severe to very severe COPD who had completed pulmonary rehabilitation. At discharge, inspiratory capacity improved, from 1.58 ± 0.5L to 1.7 ± 0.6 L (P = .04). Diaphragmatic mobility during deep inspirations increased from (mean ± SD) 4.58 ± 1.83 cm to 5.45 ± 1.56 cm (P = .05) after pulmonary rehabilitation. The diaphragmatic mobility during rest breathing was higher in the subjects with COPD (2.25 ± 0.83 cm) than in the healthy subjects (1.27 ± 0.3 cm) (P = .01). The diaphragmatic mobility for the rest breathing and deep inspirations were correlated to an FEV1 decrease (r = -0.74, P < .001; and r = 0.8, P < .001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated diaphragmatic mobility loss in the subjects with moderate to very severe COPD. These changes were correlated with COPD severity, and diaphragmatic mobility loss improved after in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation. (ClinicalTrial.gov registration NCT02838953.).

Functional evaluation of breath: spirometry and body plethysmography comparison in people with cystic fibrosis.

[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to establish up-to-date data regarding the lung function of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. [Subjects and Methods] Forty-eight patients of both genders, with a diagnosis of CF, were recruited. As a result our sample presented, according to the GOLD criteria, 23 patients with mild lung obstruction (FEV1%pred: 89.86), 16 patients with moderate lung obstruction (FEV1%pred: 56.1) and 9 patients with severe obstruction (FEV1%pred: 32.1). [Results] All patients presented normal total lung capacity followed by an important residual volume increase. [Conclusion] Our results were important to illustrate the CF patient's lung functional status and to improve the health system strategy in treating such individuals.

Moving forward in fall prevention: an intervention to improve balance among patients in a quasi-experimental study of hospitalized patients.

We investigated the effectiveness of three different rehabilitative programs: group exercise, individual core stability or balance training intervention with a stabilometric platform to improve balance ability in elderly hospitalized patients. We used a prospective quasi-experimental study design. Twenty-eight patients, 39.3% women [age (mean±SD) 72.4±6.5 years], known to have had at least a fall in the last 12 months, were consecutively assigned to one of the following three groups: group exercise intervention, individual core stability or balance training with a stabilometric platform (five sessions a week for 3 weeks in each group). Outcomes were collected at baseline and immediately following the intervention period. In each intervention group, patients showed improvement in balance and mobility, shown as an improvement in the three functional tests score (the Tinetti scale, the Berg Balance Scale, and the Time Up and Go test) (all, P<0.05), whereas, generally, the changes in the score of the test of the stabilometric platform (Postural Stability Test and Fall Risk Test) were not significant for all the interventions. No significant group-by-time interaction was detected for any of the intervention groups, which suggests that the groups improved in the same way. These findings indicate that participation in an exercise program can improve balance and functional mobility, which might contribute toward the reductions of the falls of elderly hospitalized patients and the subsequent fall-related costs. Functional scales might be more appropriate than an instrumental test (Postural Stability Test and Fall Risk Test of the Biodex Balance System) in detecting the functional improvement because of a rehabilitative intervention.

Weaning from mechanical ventilation: a cross-sectional study of reference values and the discriminative validity of aging.

[Purpose] To evaluate pre-extubation variables and check the discriminative validity of age as well as its correlation with weaning failure in elderly patients. [Subjects and Methods] Two hundred thirty-nine consecutive patients (48% female) who were on mechanical ventilation and had undergone orotracheal intubation were divided into four subgroups according to their age: <59 years, 60-69 years, 70-79 years, and >80 years old. The expiratory volume (VE), respiratory frequency (f), tidal volume (VT), and respiratory frequency/tidal volume ratio (f/VT) were used to examine differences in weaning parameters between the four subgroups, and age was correlated with weaning failure. [Results] The rate of weaning failure was 27.8% in patients aged >80 years and 22.1% in patients aged <60 years old. Elderly patients presented higher f/VT and f values and lower VT values. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for f/VT ratio were smaller than those published previously. [Conclusion] Our results indicate that aging influences weaning criteria without causing an increase in weaning failure.

Efficacy of short-term intrapulmonary percussive ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the effectiveness of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) compared to traditional standard chest physical therapy (CPT) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and productive cough. METHODS: We conducted a quasi-experimental clinical trial. Twenty patients, 40% female (mean ± SD age: 70 ± 8 years), with COPD and productive cough received a multimodal respiratory treatment including IPV and CPT or a control intervention CPT for 10 days. OUTCOMES: PImax, PEmax, heart rate, respiratory rate, SBP, DBP, Likert scale, Borg dyspnea scale and arterial blood gas analysis: PO2, PCO2, pH, HCO3 and SpO2 measurements. All measures were collected at baseline and at the end of the intervention. We used repeated ANOVA to examine the effects of interventions within groups, between-subjects and the within-subjects. RESULTS: A significant effect of time interaction (F = 7.27; p = 0.015, F = 6.16; p = 0.02 and F = 7.41; p = 0.014) existed for PO2, SpO2 and dyspnea over the moderate COPD and productive cough immediately after the intervention (all, p < 0.02). Both treatments are similarly effective in PImax and PEmax. No significant group effect or group-by-time interaction was detected for any of them, which suggests that both groups improved in the same way. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that a short-term combination of IPV and CPT improves PO2, SpO2 and perceived dyspnea than a traditional standard CPT in patients with COPD and productive cough.