NCT05254301

Nutrition and LOComotoric Rehabilitation in Long COVID-19

Faster Functional Performance Recovery After Individualized Nutrition Therapy Combined With a Patient-tailored Physical Rehabilitation Program Versus Standard Physiotherapy in Patients With Long COVID: a Pilot Study.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 65 (actual)
• Sponsor: Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Long COVID is a new phenomenon, in which individuals who experienced a SARS-CoV-2 infection still experience one or more symptoms, such as exercise intolerance, fatigue and/or muscle pains in addition to other COVID-related symptoms, weeks to months after initial infection. The aim of this pilot-study is to learn about which complaints patients continue to experience after their infection and how this affects their lives to a greater or lesser extent and whether a patient-tailored physical rehabilitation programme combined with individualised nutritional therapy leads to a faster recovery compared to a classic exercise program with the physiotherapist.

Detailed description

The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus has already led to more than 212 million confirmed cases. The acute phase of infection resulted in variable clinical presentations, from asymptomatic to severe illness requiring admission at an intensive care unit. As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, long-term symptoms and functional problems related to the SARS-CoV-2 infection reached the surface. Approximately 5-10% of the infected people experience prolonged symptoms with predominant symptoms being overall reduced physical capacity, fatigue and muscle weakness. Exertional intolerance/post-exertional malaise is also frequently seen. A growing group of patients experience persisting symptoms after the initial infection and these can have significant impact on daily functioning and quality of life. These patients feel 'abandoned' by healthcare providers and receive limited or conflicting advice. Treatment modalities for patients with long COVID have up and till now been scarcely investigated because there is insufficient understanding of the underlying mechanisms. However, most patients seek care and the majority of them receive physiotherapy/rehabilitation in one form or another in the 3 to 6 months after onset. Unfortunately, this seems not to be enough, on the contrary, patients seem to experience even more difficulties. Nutrition-wise, after highly prevalent weight loss in the active phase of COVID-19, challenges remain to improve protein intake and gain muscle mass. This stresses the need for a multidisciplinary approach and social support. The aim of the current study is to investigate if a patient-tailored physical rehabilitation programme combined with nutritional optimisation with individualised therapy and counselling may lead to a faster improvement of functional performance compared to a standard physiotherapy programme in patients suffering from long-term effects (\> 12 weeks) of COVID-19.

Conditions

• COVID-19

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Intervention group	This personalised multimodal treatment considers evidence- and practice-based elements (e.g., self-management, individual guidance \& follow-up, low-threshold activities, homebased functional training \& better follow-up guidance afterwards).

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-04-24
• Primary completion: 2024-01-30
• Completion: 2024-01-30
• First posted: 2022-02-24
• Last updated: 2024-05-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Belgium