Authors (including presenting author) :
Chan JSP, Leung KKL, Wong EYW, Woo CW, Tsui AYY, Chow ESL, Luy ATK, Kwan MWF, Tang RSK, Chau RMW
Affiliation :
Physiotherapy Department, Kowloon Hospital
Introduction :
The outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), to be a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Physiotherapy rehabilitation improves the health outcomes of patients with COVID-19 such as functional ambulation ability and facilitating early discharge.
Objectives :
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Physiotherapy rehabilitation on functional mobility for patient with COVID-19 in Kowloon Hospital(KH).
Methodology :
Patients with COVID-19 Physiotherapy rehabilitation admitted to KH were recruited since 31 July 2020. Subjects was included if they had principal diagnosis of COVID-19 and excluded if they were not referred for Physiotherapy.
The score of Modified Functional Ambulation Classification(MFAC), were rated by case Physiotherapist on admission and at discharge. The MFAC is an assessment tool designed to categorize functional ambulation ability with seven categories ranging from the patient cannot ambulate at all to the patient can ambulate independently at outdoor condition. The total hospital length of stay(LOS) in KH was assessed. SPSS23.0 was used to evaluate the outcomes measures.
Result & Outcome :
Data of 35 patients with COVID-19 aged 73.5 +/- 8.3 years were analyzed. 51.4%(n=18) was female and 48.6%(n=17) was male. Results of Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test revealed that outcome of MFAC improved at discharged including a median progression of 1(n=31,p< 0.05). MFAC median score on admission and at discharge was category IV(manual assisted walker) and category V(supervised walker) respectively. Majority(70.0%) of discharge MFAC as supervised walker(MFAC V) or independent indoor(MFAC VI) and outdoor(MFAC VII) walker were demonstrated. Hospital LOS in KH was 25.0 +/- 14.3 days.
Rehabilitation treatment plan was individualized according to the patient’s needs, mainly musculoskeletal, neurological and pulmonary rehabilitation, psychological support and education. In the early recovery stage, one of the common goals for integrate Physiotherapy rehabilitation was to enhance the ongoing impairments in functional mobility so as to promote functional independency for safe early discharge. The Physiotherapy service coverage was 97% for patient with COVID-19 with marked improvement of functional ambulation ability and majority of the patients demonstrated the high independency in ambulation at discharge.
