Monitoring physical and psychological status in home-quarantined patients with COVID-19 after hospitalization

Background: Assessment of physical and emotional functioning is essential to identify rehabilitation needs. During the first pandemic in Greece, we aimed to assess the status of physical activity, anxiety, depression and quality of life (QoL) in home-quarantined patients with COVID-19 after their hospitalization. Method: A smartphone app (Viber) was used to establish a two-way tele-communication between physiotherapists and patients at 4-6 weeks following hospital discharge. During 4 one-hour sessions patients were asked about their physical activity status, anxiety, depression, dyspnea during activities and QoL for the period pre and post COVID-hospitalization, using IPAQ-Gr, HADS, NYHA, mMRC and SF36 questionnaires, respectively. Results: 74 clinically stable individuals (aged 51±2 years, BMI 28±2Kg/m2) with fatigue symptoms included in the study. Hospitalization affected significantly (%ΔDifference between pre and post values: Δ) physical activity (IPAQ-Gr from 2400±382 to 1161±382 METs/min/week; Δ:51%); anxiety (HADS from 4.4±0.7 to 7.7±0.9 units; Δ:75%); depression (HADS from 2.1±0.4 to 5.1±0.7 units; Δ:143%); QoL (SF-36pcs from 50±1 to 42±2; Δ:3% and SF-36mcs from 50±2 to 40±3 units; 4.2%) and daily activity level because of dyspnea (NYHA from 1.37±0.1 to 2.1±0.1 units; Δ:53% and mMRC from 0.37±0.1 to 0.83±1.5 units; 124%). Conclusion: Hospitalization and quarantine have a detrimental impact on physical and emotional functioning in patients with COVID-19.