Early Physical Therapist Interventions for Patients With COVID-19 in the Acute Care Hospital: A Case Report Series.

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State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: CC BY 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_7E8914F826B3
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Publication sub-type
Case report (case report): feedback on an observation with a short commentary.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Early Physical Therapist Interventions for Patients With COVID-19 in the Acute Care Hospital: A Case Report Series.
Journal
Physical therapy
Author(s)
Eggmann S., Kindler A., Perren A., Ott N., Johannes F., Vollenweider R., Balma T., Bennett C., Silva I.N., Jakob S.M.
ISSN
1538-6724 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0031-9023
Publication state
Published
Issued date
04/01/2021
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
101
Number
1
Pages
pzaa194
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
The aim of this case series was to describe the experience of Swiss physical therapists in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 during their acute care hospital stay and to discuss challenges and potential strategies in the clinical management of these patients.
We report 11 cases of patients with COVID-19 from 5 Swiss hospitals that illustrate the various indications for physical therapy, clinical challenges, potential treatment methods, and short-term response to treatment.
Physical therapists actively treated patients with COVID-19 on wards and in the intensive care unit. Interventions ranged from patient education, to prone positioning, to early mobilization and respiratory therapy. Patients were often unstable with quick exacerbation of symptoms and a slow and fluctuant recovery. Additionally, many patients who were critically ill developed severe weakness, postextubation dysphagia, weaning failure, or presented with anxiety or delirium. In this setting, physical therapy was challenging and required specialized and individualized therapeutic strategies. Most patients adopted the proposed treatment strategies, and lung function and physical strength improved over time.
Physical therapists clearly have a role in the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our experience in Switzerland, we recommend that physical therapists routinely screen and assess patients for respiratory symptoms and exercise tolerance on acute wards. Treatment of patients who are critically ill should start as soon as possible to limit further sequelae. More research is needed for awake prone positioning and early breathing exercises as well as post-COVID rehabilitation.
To date, there are few data on the physical therapist management of patients with COVID-19. This article is among the first to describe the role of physical therapists in the complex pandemic environment and to describe the potential treatment strategies for countering the various challenges in the treatment of these patients.
Keywords
COVID-19/therapy, Critical Care/methods, Critical Illness/therapy, Female, Humans, Intensive Care Units, Male, Muscle Strength, Patient Positioning, Physical Therapists/organization & administration, Physical Therapy Modalities/organization & administration, Switzerland, COVID-19, Case Report, Critical Care, Critical Illness, Delirium, Dysphagia, Early Ambulation, Early Mobilization, Physiotherapy
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
21/05/2021 17:18
Last modification date
09/07/2024 6:03
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