Brief outpatient rehab program beneficial for post-COVID-19 condition

A brief outpatient rehabilitation program with a cognitive and behavioral approach is effective and safe for patients with post-COVID-19 condition (PCC), according to a study published online Dec. 19 in JAMA Network Open.

Tom Farmen Nerli, M.D., from Akershus University Hospital in Lørenskog, Norway, and colleagues examined the effectiveness of a brief outpatient rehabilitation program based on a cognitive and behavioral approach in a randomized trial involving patients with mild-to-moderate PCC. Participants were randomly assigned to an established transdiagnostic rehabilitation program, which consisted of two to eight outpatient encounters with about two to six weeks between each encounter, or care as usual.

A total of 314 patients were included in the study and 231 completed the primary end point evaluation. The researchers found statistically and clinically significant improvement in the Short-Form Health Survey 36 Physical Function Subscale scores (score difference between groups, 9.2). Over time, the effect was sustained. The intervention was favored in most secondary and safety outcomes.

“In this randomized clinical trial of patients with PCC, a brief outpatient rehabilitation program with a cognitive and behavioral approach was effective and safe,” the authors write. “This trial adds to the evidence supporting such interventions in routine clinical care.”

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