Long-term follow-up of the treatment for severe COVID-19 with qigong exercise and acupressure: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Most clinical trials have reported significant short-term effects of traditional medicine therapies on COVID-19 patients. However, there is no clinical trial to determine the long-term effects of traditional medicine therapies on severe COVID-19 patients. Methods: A total of 128 patients with severe COVID-19, who were recruited in our previous clinical trial following hospital discharge, were monitored at months 14 and 28. This trial aims to evaluate the long-term effect of an early Qigong exercise and acupressure rehabilitation program on patients with severe COVID-19.The intervention group received qigong exercise and acupressure therapy, plus standard therapies. The control group received standard therapies.The study was a single-center, parallel, randomized, prospective follow-up study. The outcomes of the study included changes in the modified Borg dyspnea scale (MBS), the modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (mMRC), the patient health questionnaire-9 scale (PHQ-9), the activity of daily living (ADL), the remaining clinical symptoms and any intervention related adverse events. Results: The intervention group showed a statistically significant improvement in the mMRC scores (−0.4, 95 % CI (−0.6, 0.2), P 0.05). Conclusions: QARP had long-term sustained efficacy for dyspnea, chest tightness, and cough in patients with COVID-19, especially in young and middle-aged patients, and the effect was significant at the 14th month of follow-up. Trial registration: This trial was registered at the China Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2100044572).

Keywords

• COVID-19
• Randomized controlled trial
• Qigong
• Acupressure