The physiotherapist’s role in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

• Autor(a) principal: Tomás, Maria Teresa
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Ferreira, Germano, Fernandes, Beatriz
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.25758/set.2271
• topic: COVID-19; Síndroma de dificuldade respiratória aguda; Fisioterapia respiratória; COVID-19; Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Respiratory physiotherapy

The disease COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 translates, in individuals affected by this virus, from mild respiratory symptoms, sometimes imperceptible to serious respiratory and multiorgan implications, especially if associated with risk groups such as people with hypertension, diabetes, or those with more than 65 years, among others. For the most severely affected patients, hospitalization in intensive care units due to severe respiratory distress syndrome may be a reality, with increased hospitalization time compared to normal pneumonia, which will translate into the motor and functional sequelae where the physiotherapist will have an essential role to develop. In any of the different stages of evolution of this disease (critical and acute, post-acute, ambulatory, and home), the physiotherapist acts in order to restore maximum functional capacity in individuals affected by COVID-19. The purpose of this text is thus to show the role of the physiotherapist in each of these intervention stages.