Instruments used by physiotherapists to assess functional capacity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: An online survey

Abstract

Background

Assessing functional capacity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 may have been neglected due to a great demand for resources at the height of pandemic and the lack of specific assessment instruments for this population. Objectives: To identify the instruments used to evaluate functional capacity in COVID-19 patients hospitalized in COVID-19 wards and ICUs and the associations between use of assessment instruments and physiotherapist characteristics

Methods

The survey was conducted using REDCap web-based application, following the Consensus-Based Checklist for Reporting of Survey Studies guidelines. A non-probability recruitment approach aimed at physiotherapists who had treated hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Brazil. The instruments were classified into four domains: muscle strength, mobility, activities of daily living, and physical performance, as for the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health

Results

Overall, 485 physiotherapists responded to the survey, 81.9% of whom used one or more instruments to assess functional capacity. The Medical Research Council (59.6%) and the Six-Minute Walk Test (21.7%) were the most commonly used instruments in COVID-19 wards; the MRC (63.9%) and the Intensive Care Mobility Scale (33.1%), in ICUs. In COVID-19 wards, higher probability of using assessment instruments was associated with being male, having training on COVID-19 management, and working > 50 h/week. In ICUs, having training on COVID-19 management and working in university hospitals were associated with higher probability of using these instruments

Conclusions

Most physiotherapists used one or more instruments to assess functional capacity, assessed more than one physical domain, and used the obtained results to plan interventions.