Teletechnology-assisted Home-based Exercise Program for Severe COVID-19

National Taiwan University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: COVID-19; Telerehabilitation

Treatments: Behavioral: Teletechnology-assisted home-based pulmonary rehabilitation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05778344

202106133RIND

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of a home-based pulmonary rehabilitation program with the support of teletechnology in COVID-19 survivors. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• The change of six-minute walk distance
• The change of time of one-minute sit-to-stand test
• The change of maximal strength of upper-limb, lower-limb and respiratory muscle
• The change of quality of life Participants in the home-based pulmonary rehabilitation group will receive teletechnology-assisted consultations (either by videotelephony or telephone calls) for every 1-2 weeks during the intervention period, and participants in the usual care group will not receive teletechnology-assisted consultations during the intervention period.

Enrollment: 40 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients are 20 years or more with severe (severe pneumonia) to critical (acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, or septic shock) COVID-19 during hospitalization after deisolation.
• Patients are 65 years or more, or ever receiving oral antiviral treatment after deisolation.
• Patient have the ability to ambulate on level surface without direct contact of another person, have telecommunication device(s), and provide consent to receive teletechnology-assisted rehabilitation.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients are pregnant or planning for pregnancy.
• Patients have cognitive dysfunction, learning disability, uncontrolled arrhythmia or hypertension, or any medical diagnosis other than COVID-19 that would prominently influence their ability to follow instructions and perform exercise.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Home-based pulmonary rehabilitation group

Experimental group

Description:

The home-based pulmonary rehabilitation group will receive breathing exercise instructions using online learning materials soon after randomization. The participants will receive a home-based exercise plan, which comprises aerobic exercise and resistance exercise with instruction sheets. The participants will also be given a smart watch (to record heart rate, step count and distance in daily life) and a portable pulse oximeter (to monitor heart pulse and oxygen saturation during exercise) for 12 weeks. Teletechnology will be incorporated into home-based pulmonary rehabilitation via videotelephony (or telephone calls if indicated). Time points for these teletechnology-assisted consultations will be at day 7, day 14 after randomization and every 2 weeks after that until the completion of the study (week 12).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Teletechnology-assisted home-based pulmonary rehabilitation

Usual care group

Active Comparator group

Description:

The usual care group will receive breathing exercise instructions using online learning materials soon after randomization. The participants will also receive general exercise education and exercise safety principles but not any consultation about their physical activity/exercise during the study period.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Teletechnology-assisted home-based pulmonary rehabilitation