IMPACT OF PULMONARY REHABILITATION ON POST-COVID-19 PATIENTS: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) is an infectious disease caused by the coronavirus (SAS-CoV-2).  Clinically, in the acute phase, patients may be asymptomatic or develop mild or moderate symptoms, or progress to severe or critical symptoms, whether or not they require invasive mechanical ventilation (Soriano et al. 2022). Most infected patients develop the mild form of the disease. However, the presence of underlying medical conditions such as systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), diabetes, the higher body mass index (BMI), or chronic respiratory diseases - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, contribute to the development of the severe form of the disease in the acute phase, as well as the permanence of post-Covid-19 or Long Covid symptoms (Miranda et al,  2022).