Minimizing the Effects of COVID-19 Hospitalization With the COVID Rehabilitation Program for the Elderly: the CORE Trial in Response to the Pandemic

Although evidence from the management of other viral respiratory infections suggest that early multidisciplinary rehabilitation could mitigate the adverse effects of the severe form of the illness, and reduce the length of hospital stays (LOS), specific data for COVID-19 are lacking. Hence, in response to the current pandemic, we propose to implement and assess the impact of an early standardized multidisciplinary rehabilitation program tailored to frail older adults on 1) LOS, 2) post-discharge destination, 3) prognostic index and 4) functional capacity.

With a pragmatic multicenter controlled study, the COvid Rehabilitation Program for the Elderly (CORE) trial will allow to measure the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary program to minimize the effects of hospitalization and provide the required tools to rapidly implement an innovative strategy of care for older adults. Indeed, based on the results of this study, and with the support of scientific and professional organizations, a standardized program tailored to older adults with COVID-19 will be disseminated in Canada for all medical units dedicated to the management of the disease. Because of its pragmatic approach, this study will provide a sustainable multidisciplinary intervention that can be quickly implemented in any Canadian (or abroad) COVID-19 medical unit. Finally, given that COVID-19 is the third coronavirus infection in the last 20 years, the expected results will provide guidelines, with decision tree algorithms, for implementation should another coronavirus or for that matter, any other such type of infection that surface in the future.