A Case Report of Long COVID with Pulmonary Fibrosis Patient after Receiving an Outpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program
Keywords:
Lung fibrosis, Pulmonary rehabilitation, Exercise, Long COVIDAbstract
COVID-19 survivors have developed pulmonary fibrosis and found that up to 44.9%, which caused dyspnea, decreased exercise capacity, and poor quality of life. Pulmonary rehabilitation is commonly used to reduce dyspnea, enhance exercise tolerance and improve quality of life. However, few studies of pulmonary rehabilitation in long COVID patients with pulmonary fibrosis have been conducted due to COVID-19 being an emerging disease. This report was a case study on a 60-year-old Thai male patient with long COVID and pulmonary fibrosis who received outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation for 3 months following the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines. The fact that the patient had limited exercise capacity caused by dyspnea and abnormal pulmonary function at the beginning of the rehabilitation program, meant that he first underwent low-intensity interval training to reduce dyspnea and familiarize himself with the prescribed training activities before progressing to moderate-intensity continuous training. After the rehabilitation 3 months, the patient experienced improved strength in the upper limbs (17.50%-17.86%), lower limbs (66.67%), respiratory muscles (inspiratory muscles 7.89%, expiratory muscles 9.62%), and pulmonary function (FEV1 8.87%, FVC 5.04% and FEF25-75% , 30.77%). (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 8.87%, forced vital capacity (FVC) 5.04% and peak expiratory flow (PEF) 25-75, 30.77%). As a result, improved exercise capacity (29.31%) and quality of life improved while dyspnea decreased. Thus, pulmonary rehabilitation should be recommended in patients with long COVID and pulmonary fibrosis to enhance their exercise capacity as well as their quality of life.
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