European Respiratory Society statement on long COVID follow-up.

Patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection frequently experience symptom burden post-acute infection or post-hospitalisation. We aimed to identify optimal strategies for follow-up care that may positively impact the patient's quality of life (QoL). A European Respiratory Society (ERS) Task Force convened and prioritised eight clinical questions.

Association of improvement in functional capacity after rehabilitation with long-term survival in heart failure.

Background: The prognostic value of change in six-minute walking distance (6MWD) after treatment to predict mortality in heart failure (HF) remains a controversial issue. We assessed the prognostic value of rehabilitation-induced improvement in 6MWD in predicting mortality in patients with HF.

Methods: We studied 2257 patients admitted to six inpatient rehabilitation facilities after a hospitalization for HF (N.

Telemedicine as a Means to an End, Not an End in Itself.

Telemedicine (TM)-the management of disease at a distance-has potential usefulness for patients with advanced respiratory disease. Underscoring this potential is the dramatic expansion of its applications in clinical medicine. However, since clinical studies testing this intervention often provide heterogeneous results, its role in the medical management of respiratory disorders remains inconclusive.

Respiratory rehabilitation for patients with COVID-19 infection and chronic respiratory failure: a real-life retrospective study by a Lombard network.

The Lombardy region has been one of the areas most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since the first months of 2020, providing real-life experiences in the acute phase. It is unclear how the respiratory rehabilitation network responded to this emergency. The aims of this retrospective study were: i) to analyze clinical, functional, and disability data at admission; ii) describe assessment tools and rehabilitative programs; iii) evaluate improvement after rehabilitation.

Exercise Intolerance and Oxygen Desaturation in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: Triggers for Respiratory Rehabilitation?

The role that oxygen desaturation plays in exercise tolerance and its rehabilitative implications in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) are unclear. We aimed to test exercise tolerance and oxygen saturation levels both during exercise and at night in PD patients to better define their rehabilitative needs. In clinically stable PD patients, undergoing inpatient rehabilitation, and in "ON" phase, we prospectively assessed clinical data, sleepiness, comorbidities, PD severity (Hoehn&Yahr, HY), motor function (ADLs, UPDRSII and UPDRSIII, Barthel Index, Functional Independence Measure), balance, spirometry, respiratory muscles (MIP/MEP), peak cough expiratory flow (PCEF), continuous night oxygen monitoring, and meters at 6MWT.

Clusters of Survivors of COVID-19 Associated Acute Respiratory Failure According to Response to Exercise.

COVID-19 survivors are associated with acute respiratory failure (ARF) and show a high prevalence of impairment in physical performance. The present studied aimed to assess whether we may cluster these individuals according to an exercise test. The presented study is a retrospective analysis of 154 survivors who were admitted to two hospitals of Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri network, Italy.

Characteristics, Outcomes, and Long-Term Survival of Patients With Heart Failure Undergoing Inpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Objective: To investigate the association of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participation with all-cause mortality after a hospitalization for heart failure (HF) and to describe the characteristics and functional and clinical outcomes of HF patients undergoing inpatient CR.

Design: Multicenter cohort study. The association between CR participation and all-cause mortality from discharge from the acute care setting was assessed using Cox regression analysis adjusting for established prognostic factors.

Determinants of improvement in functional abilities in peripheral neuropathy patients undergoing rehabilitation: the role of Berg Balance Scale items.

Purpose: This prospective observational cohort study aimed to verify whether single Berg Balance Scale (BBS) items were important determinants of improvement in functional abilities in patients with peripheral neuropathy (PN).

Methods: Data were collected in 75 older patients with PN performing a standard motor rehabilitation program. Backward stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to identify determinants of outcome measures.

Characteristics of COVID-19 Pneumonia Survivors With Resting Normoxemia and Exercise-Induced Desaturation.

Background: Survivors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated pneumonia may show exercise-induced desaturation. We wondered whether these individuals show physiologic and symptom characteristics similar to individuals with chronic respiratory diseases with exercise-induced desaturation, namely COPD or interstitial lung diseases (ILD). We evaluated lung function, exercise capacity, and symptoms in these individuals compared with individuals with COPD or ILD and exercise-induced desaturation.

Measures of physical performance in COVID-19 patients: a mapping review.

Background And Objective: There is evidence of short- and long-term impairment of physical performance in patients with COVID-19 infection, but a verification of measures of physical impairment in this condition is lacking. We reviewed the measures used to assess physical performance in these patients. Secondary targets were measures of exercise or daily life activities induced symptoms.

Predictive factors of functional abilities in older patients with peripheral neuropathy.

Background And Aims: Little is known about the outcome predictors in peripheral neuropathy (PN). This prospective observational study aimed to identify possible factors predicting the functional abilities in older patients with PN undergoing motor rehabilitation.

Methods: Data were collected in 80 PN patients, aged over 65 years, performing a standard inpatient motor rehabilitation program.

Altered Vascular Endothelium-Dependent Responsiveness in Frail Elderly Patients Recovering from COVID-19 Pneumonia: Preliminary Evidence.

We evaluated vascular dysfunction with the single passive leg movement test (sPLM) in 22 frail elderly patients at 84 + 31 days after hospitalization for COVID-19 pneumonia, compared to 22 age-, sex- and comorbidity-matched controls (CTRL). At rest, all COVID-19 patients were in stable clinical condition without severe comorbidities. Patients (aged 72 ± 6 years, 73% male) had moderate disability (Barthel index score 77 ± 26), hypoxemia and normocapnia at arterial blood gas analysis and mild pulmonary restriction at spirometry.

Neuropsychological Pattern in a Series of Post-Acute COVID-19 Patients in a Rehabilitation Unit: Retrospective Analysis and Correlation with Functional Outcomes.

Intensive Care Unit delirium, insomnia, anxiety, and frontal/dysexecutive disorders have been described following COVID-19 infection. The aim of this case study was to re-evaluate the neuropsychological pattern in a series of patients with COVID-19 outcomes. We retrospectively evaluated 294 patients admitted to the Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri of Lumezzane (Brescia) (May-September 2020).

A decision making algorithm for rehabilitation after stroke: A guide to choose an appropriate and safe treadmill training.

Background: Walking independently after a stroke can be difficult or impossible, and walking reeducation is vital. But the approach used is often arbitrary, relying on the devices available and subjective evaluations by the doctor/physiotherapist. Objective decision making tools could be useful.

The severity of acute exacerbations of COPD and the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation.

Background And Aim: Pulmonary rehabilitation is effective also in patients recovering from acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). We aimed to evaluate whether levels of dyspnoea affect the outcome of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients recovering from AECOPD requiring different levels of care.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective data analysis of 1057 patients recovering from AECOPD requiring either hospital (Hospital group: 291) or home management (Home group: 766), undergone post AECOPD in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation.

Recovering of oxygenation, physical function and disability in patients with Covid-19.

The present case report describes middle-time course of respiratory and physical variables in eight Covid-19 patients who were transferred from ICU of Covid Hub in our subacute Covid-19 unit. Secondly they were admitted in a pulmonary rehabilitation unit and, at discharge, a tele-rehabilitation program was provided as a continuum of care at home. Time course of oxygenation, physical function and disability were recorded.

The Maugeri daily activity profile: a tool to assess physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) report reduced physical activity (PA). There are only few tools available to assess PA and sedentary behavior in these patients, and none of them aims to differentiate between sedentary and active patterns. The aim of the study was to evaluate an easy tool to profile daily activity time in a cohort of patients with COPD, compared to healthy subjects; the study was set at the Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri (ICS), IRCCS of Tradate and Lumezzane, Italy, and at the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale Novaggio, Switzerland (Italian Speaking).

Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Patients Recovering from COVID-19.

Background: In hospitalized patients recovering from the SARS-coronavirus-2 disease 19 (COVID-19), high prevalence of muscle weakness and physical performance impairment has been observed.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in these subjects in a real-life setting.

Methods: Retrospective data analysis of patients recovering from COVID-19, including those requiring assisted ventilation or oxygen therapy, consecutively admitted to an in-patient pulmonary rehabilitation program between April 1 and August 15, 2020.

Patients recovering from exacerbations of COPD with and without hospitalization need: could ICF score be an additional pulmonary rehabilitation outcome?

Objective: To compare disability changes measured with the Respiratory ICF Maugeri core set on COPD patients, recovering from acute exacerbation with and without hospitalization, submitted to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR).

Materials And Methods: All COPD inpatients admitted for rehabilitation in 9 Respiratory Units (January-August 2019) were considered eligible. 2066 patients were included (540 discharged from an acute Hospital = Hospital group and 1526 coming from their home = Home group).