Rehabilitation of Patients with Severe Disability after CO VID-19 in Rehabilitation Department. Multiple Case Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected all aspects of life around the world including both the medical system as a whole and individual medical specialties. Understandably, medical rehabilitation was forced to adapt to the new disease, to develop adequate algorithms and technologies that can increase the level of independence and quality of life being disrupted as a result of coronavirus infection.Aim. To analyze, organize and present the results of in-patient rehabilitation of patients after severe forms of COVID-19 infection by reporting the real cases from the clinical practice.Material and methods. COVID-19 infection is a multi-systemic disease, which, in many cases requires for inpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation program. Patients after severe forms of infection suffer different symptoms in variable combinations. According to main disabling signs we can classify all our patients in 3 groups: (1) general weakness or deconditioning, (2) respiratory disorders due to lung disease, and (3) patients with different neurological complications. Patients in all groups demonstrate serious psychological compliances which indefinitely have negative influence on rehabilitation process. The paper presents clinical cases specific to each of the groups.Results. All hospitalized patients showed good functional improvement through quite standard length of stay in the department All patients were discharged home with the opportunity to return to relatively normal daily activities.Conclusions. Patients after severe COVID-19 infection require professional multidisciplinary in-patient rehabilitation. All of them demonstrate good functional improvement and, after quite short period of hospitalization, can be discharged home.