{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]],"date-time":"2026-04-10T20:47:30Z","timestamp":1775854050330,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,21]],"date-time":"2024-04-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1713657600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of six weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation on functional and psychological outcomes in long-COVID patients. Material and Methods: The prospective clinical study included 46 patients that were diagnosed with COVID-19. A respiratory rehabilitation program was implemented for six weeks. Further valuables were tested before the beginning of the rehabilitation program (admission) and six weeks after (discharge): SpO2, heart rate, respiratory rate, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, Borg score, Sit-to-Stand (StS) test number of repetition, distance of 6-Minute Walking Test (6MWT), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) 9 score and Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) anxiety score. These parameters were tested before the rehabilitation program on admission and at discharge and after the rehabilitation program on admission and at discharge. The results were presented with standard descriptive and analytical methods. Differences between the continuous variables before and after physical rehabilitation intervention were tested using the Wilcoxon test. Graphical analysis is presented with a box plot. Results: On discharge, in comparison with admission, the values of SpO2 were significantly lower (p = 0.007) before the 6MWT, and VAS scores were significantly higher (p = 0.036), while after the 6MWT, VAS scores were significantly lower (p &lt; 0.001) as were Borg scores (p = 0.016). On discharge, in comparison with admission, the respiratory rate was significantly higher (p = 0.005) before the StS test, and Borg scores were significantly lower (p = 0.001), while after the StS test, SpO2 levels were significantly higher (p = 0.036) and VAS scores were significantly lower (p &lt; 0.001), as were Borg scores (p = 0.008). After discharge, the values of the StS test were significantly higher (p = 0.011), PHQ9 scores were significantly lower (p &lt; 0.001) and GAD anxiety scores were significantly lower as well (p = 0.005), while the distances measured in meters on the 6MWT were significantly increased (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: A structured rehabilitation program in our study was shown to have beneficial effects on physiological, psychological and functional improvements in patients with long-COVID, and therefore it is advisable for these patients.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina60040671","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,22]],"date-time":"2024-04-22T09:53:52Z","timestamp":1713779632000},"page":"671","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The Effects of Six Weeks Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Functional and Psychological Outcomes in Long-COVID Patients: Preliminary Results from Serbian Single Center Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"60","author":[{"given":"Natasa","family":"Mujovic","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Center for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0609-9916","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dejan","family":"Nikolic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Children\u2019s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Filip","family":"Markovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Pulmonary Diseases, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1787-1438","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mihailo","family":"Stjepanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Clinic for Pulmonary Diseases, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Milica","family":"Zekovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Sports Medicine and Exercise Therapy, Institute of Medical Physiology \u201cRihard Burijan\u201d, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hussain Saleh H.","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King Faisal Medical City, Abha 62527, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9011-3396","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dubravka","family":"Zivanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Clinic of Dermatology and Venerology, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0425-0731","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milan","family":"Savic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"},{"name":"Clinic for Lung Surgery, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marija","family":"Laban","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinic for Pulmonary Diseases, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.32394\/pe.76.27","article-title":"Long COVID","volume":"76","author":"Guziejko","year":"2022","journal-title":"Prz. 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