Most COVID-19 patients experience only mild to moderate symptoms but about 15 per cent will develop severe respiratory disease, with some needing intensive medical management or even admission to an intensive care unit. At present, however, there is no way of telling which patients will become severely unwell.
A new research project being led by Fiona Stanley Hospital physiotherapist Dale Edgar could change this.
In addition to monitoring patients’ symptoms, the study will track their grip strength and counts of sitting to standing in a minute, during their time in hospital.
Both exercises can be performed quickly and simply. The grip test is a sentinel measure of a person’s overall muscle strength, while the sit-to-stand assessment can be used to predict mortality in the elderly.
The study will seek to identify correlation between patients’ performance in these functional tests and other physiological markers such as heart rate, respiratory rate and blood oxygen levels.
Initial testing will take place on patients’ admission to hospital, with follow up every other day to monitor for changes in functioning.
Associate Professor Edgar’s study will also track patients for 12 months to enhance understanding of long-term recovery from COVID-19.
COVID-19 (LATER-19) – is among 12 WA projects that will share in close to $2 million of State Government funding to support COVID-19-related research.
If found to be effective in predicting disease severity, the exercises would give healthcare staff a simple, cheap and non-invasive means of knowing which patients required extra monitoring – and potentially more aggressive intervention.
Information gathered from the tests would also be helpful in guiding the rehabilitation of patients who survived COVID-19 but were left with long-term physical impairment.
The study will be conducted by clinicians, academics and researchers from WA’s three tertiary hospital sites, the WA Country Health Service and multiple universities.
Participants from the LATER-19 study will be drawn from patients already enrolled in a global, World Health Organisation-endorsed observational project known as ISARIC (International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium).
WA Health is participating in ISARIC which is gathering data and blood samples from patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
The 12 WA projects awarded funding in the State Government’s COVID-19 research funding program were selected on merit by an expert panel, which included consumer representation and was chaired by the State’s Chief Scientist, Professor Peter Klinken.
In addition to the $1.9 million in project grants, another $1 million has been provided for infrastructure support.
The funding program is being overseen by the WA Department of Health in conjunction with the WA Health Translation Network, which includes consumer representation through the Consumer and Community Health Research Network.
Assistant Director General Clinical Excellence at the Department of Health, Dr James Williamson, said Associate Professor Edgar’s project was an example of some of the innovative research being undertaken across the WA Health system, including by members of the allied health professions.
ENDS
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