Comparison of Functional Capacities of Healthcare Workers With and Without Covid-19

This study was designed in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service of Gaziosmanpasa Training and Research Hospital between January 4 and June 30, 2021.Data of the health workers from our hospital who suffered from Covid-19 disease and matched control group who had not have Covid-19 disease participants were analyzed. Participants signed a general consent .Inclusion criteria; being a health worker over the age of 18 (for both groups), having had SARS-CoV-2 (Covid 19) disease for last 1 month and completed the isolation process, volunteer to participate in the study, , being able to walk or sit and stand without any help, speaking and understand Turkish language. Exclusion criteria (for both study and control group); Neurological or musculoskeletal disease that causes gait impairment, cognitive impairment, having unstable cardiac, respiratory and metabolic disease.(The first assessment will be made within the 1st month after the patient's Covid 19 positivity is detected; control will be made three times in the 2nd, 4th and 6 months)

30 volunteer healthcare workers who had Covid-19 were included to study group. 30 age and gender matched volunteer healthcare workers were included to control group. Healthcare workers who have had Covid-19 disease will be evaluated for the first time within 1 month after their diagnosis with RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2.

Symptom questioning will be reported including the initial symptoms of Covid-19 and ongoing complaints of the patients. During the examination, muscle strength will be evaluated by the Medical Research Council (MRC) total score. Resting heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation (by pulse oxymeter) measurement will be applied to both groups before and after the following tests: 1-min sit-to-stand (1MSTS) test, 5 times sit-to-stand (5TSTS) test, 6 minutes walk test (6MWT).

MRC dyspnea scale will be performed as a measure of patient's complaint of shortness of breath,Job performance was assessed by asking "How do you evaluate your job performance?" on 6-point Likert scale, Short Form-12 (Short Form 12, SF-12) will be used to assess quality of life, mood disorder wil be measured by Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory, Fatigue severity scale(FSS) will be performed as level of fatigue. The first evaluation wil be made within 1 month after one positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 is detected; control evaluations will be made in the 2nd, 4th and 6th months after positivity of RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2. Finally, the patient's sex, age, body mass index (BMI), height, education status, career, status of hospitalization, length of hospitalization, comorbidities , pulmonary involvement that diagnosed radiological methods and examination of symptoms related with Covid-19 will be recorded.