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Effects of COVID-19 Hospitalization on Physical Performance

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Physical Disability
Covid19
Interventions
Other: Therapeutic Exercise
Registration Number
NCT04751630
Lead Sponsor
Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Brief Summary

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has resulted in millions of hospital admissions. The physical consequences caused by COVID-19 hospitalization could jeopardize the overall health status of patients through a decrease in functional capacity. A therapeutic exercise program may reduce the adverse effects of COVID-19 on functional capacity and thereby improve the overall health status of these patients.

The objectives of this project are 1) to analyze the effect of a therapeutic exercise program in patients who have been hospitalized in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for COVID-19.

Single-blind randomized clinical trial. 118 patients post-ICU for COVID-19 will be randomized into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group will perform a therapeutic exercise program for eight weeks in telematic modality. Functional capacity will be analyzed using the grip strength, Short Physical Performance Battery, gait speed, lower extremity strength and the FRAIL scale at baseline, eight and twelve weeks. The main statistical analysis will be a comparison of means for independent samples assessing the effect of the intervention.

Given the high prevalence of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, establishing strategies to minimize the adverse effects of the virus on patients is a must for the healthcare setting. Assessing physical condition after COVID-19 will allow the magnitude of the problem to be established. Physiotherapy, through therapeutic exercise, could improve physical fitness in these patients and thus improve the overall health status after COVID-19.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
70
Inclusion Criteria
  • Age 18 years or older.
  • Have been diagnosed COVID-19 positive at the time of hospital admission.
  • Be able to use an online platform to conduct "meetings" with the healthcare professional or have the necessary personal assistance to do so.
  • Be able to read the informed consent form and understand the objectives and conduct of the study.
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Exclusion Criteria
  • Diagnosed neurological or psychiatric disease.
  • Contraindications to physical exercise.
  • Failure to give informed consent for the study.
  • Unavailability to perform the ET program twice a week.
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Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Therapeutic Exercise groupTherapeutic ExerciseThe study participants corresponding to the Therapeutic Exercise (ET) intervention group will follow the prescriptions given to them by their primary care physician. In addition, and as the main part of the intervention, they will undergo a six-week ET program with two sessions per week, for a total of 12 sessions. Full participation in 10 sessions will be necessary to be included in the ET group during the statistical analysis. Each session will be one hour long. The sessions will be given and supervised by a physiotherapist expert in therapeutic exercise prescription through the online modality.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Upper limb strength changeChange from Baseline upper limb strength at 6 weeks

handgrip strength test

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Physical Performance changeChange from Baseline physical performance at 6 weeks

Short Physical Performance Battery test

lower limb strength changeChange from Baseline lower limb strength at 6 weeks

5 times sit and reach test

Fraility changeChange from Baseline fraility at 6 weeks

FRAIL scale

Walking speed changeChange from Baseline walking speed at 6 weeks

4 meters walking speed

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Hospital Arnau de Vilanova

🇪🇸

Lleida, Spain

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