Coronavirus (COVID-19): evidence relevant to clinical rehabilitation

De afgelopen week verscheen een Cochrane Special Collection over COVID-19 & Revalidatie. Op de Cochrane-website zal deze regelmatig worden geüpdatet.

“Rehabilitation focuses on the overall functioning of the whole person, including comorbidities. Consequently, rehabilitation of individuals who have experienced COVID-19 must consider not only the consequences of the disease but also the effects of treatments applied during the acute phase. For the WHO, functioning (the target of rehabilitation) is a key indicator of health, alongside mortality and morbidity, capturing the impact of diseases and injuries on body functions, human activities and participation. Rehabilitation inherently serves to reduce disability, with broad health, social, and economic impacts.

This Special Collection is the result of collaboration within Cochrane Rehabilitation, with rigorous involvement from stakeholders: the Steering Committee of the REH-COVER (Rehabilitation COVID-19 Evidence-based Response) action and the Cochrane Rehabilitation Advisory Board. The agreed list of relevant conditions is the product of a structured prioritization process for identifying the list of conditions, and subsequently review inclusion, except post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for which Cochrane Mental Health and Neuroscience was consulted.

This collaborative work identified the following conditions as relevant to the WHO rehabilitation programme: 

  • Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and pulmonary restrictive syndrome
  • Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS)
  • Post-extubation swallowing disorders
  • Multiple organ failure and shock
  • PTSD, in the context of rehabilitation

This Special Collection focuses on rehabilitation interventions for each of these conditions, but it should be noted that the rehabilitation process of COVID-19 patients in practice will be performed by multi-professional teams with a strict interdisciplinary collaboration, in accordance with the individual’s needs.

More information about this Special Collection: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/collections/doi/SC000047/full