Effects of Inpatient Rehabilitation Measures in Long-COVID-19 Syndrome

The study is a prospective, monocentric cohort study in which patients with the main diagnosis of long-COVID syndrome from the Paracelsus Harz Clinic, Bad Suderode, are included and followed up over a period of three months. The study population consists of patients from the rehabilitation clinic Paracelsus-Harz-Klinik Bad Suderode. It is planned to enroll 100 patients, all of whom will be included in a three-month follow-up. Within this follow-up, 20 of the 100 patients will be selected to be re-examined in the clinic three months later. For this purpose, patients are selected who live within a maximum distance of 50km from the Paracelsus Harz Clinic and who are able to reach the clinic three months after completion of the rehabilitation measure. After receiving the vote of the Ethics Committee of the Medical Association of the State of Saxony-Anhalt (Bad Suderode) and the written consent of the patients, socio-demographic information and questions are documented according to the standard of the rehabilitation clinic. All relevant baseline parameters (age, gender, BMI, drug treatment, etc.) are also documented. In order to obtain the essential values for the evaluation of the physical and psychological condition of the patients, all patients receive an FAS questionnaire, a HADS-D and an SF-12 questionnaire upon inclusion and at the end of the rehabilitation stay. Furthermore, after admission and before discharge, a six-minute walk test, a lung function test using body plethysmography and a long-term ECG for cardiological observation are carried out. After the patients have left the clinic, 80 of the recruited patients will be contacted by post three months later in order to fill out the previously known questionnaires again. The Fatigue Questionnaire (FAS Questionnaire) is of particular interest for checking the physical and psychological development after completion of the rehabilitation treatment. In addition, the patients should again receive the HADS-D and SF-12 questionnaires to check their mental and physical well-being. If the patients cannot be reached, an attempt is made to obtain follow-up information by telephone, relatives or general practitioners. The remaining 20 patients will be referred to the clinic again as part of the three-month follow-up so that the development of lung function and performance, measured using VO2max, can be checked in the form of spiroergometry. During their stay, they also receive the FAS questionnaire, the HADS-D and the SF-12 questionnaire to fill out