Balke Maryam, Garbsch René, Cormann Jessica, Pape Pantea, Mooren Frank C, Schmitz Boris
Department of Early Neurological Rehabilitation, Cellitinnen Hospital St. Mary Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany.
Front Rehabil Sci. 2025 Jul 21;6:1633466. doi: 10.3389/fresc.2025.1633466. eCollection 2025.
Post-COVID syndrome (PCS) is a frequent condition with an incidence of 7.8-10.6 per 100 unvaccinated and 3.5-5.3 events per 100 vaccinated persons. Cognitive and motor fatigue are common clinical manifestations, limiting patients' occupational, educational, and social activities severely.
This study aimed to develop a diary to keep record of daily changes in energy levels of patients with PCS to adapt their rehabilitation program.
We conducted a prospective observational study at two German rehabilitation centers in a codesign approach with repeated feedback loops. Daily energy changes were analyzed and validated using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory-20 (MFI-20).
The final diary revealed that morning and evening energy levels of patients with PCS differed significantly, with 49.6 ± 18.6% and 33.4 ± 19.7%, respectively ( ≤ 0.0001, on admission). Energy levels decreased by ∼5% with active therapy and increased by ∼5% with passive therapy ( < 0.0001). A comparison with MFI-20 at discharge showed good negative correlation ( = -0.5358, < 0.0001), and patient interviews revealed that most patients ( = 19; 95%) rated the diary as "useful for self-reflection" and "helpful tool to learn the process of pacing."
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: This diary is a valid and user-friendly tool to detect and control the effects of daily therapy during the rehabilitation of patients with PCS. It will facilitate individual planning and adaptation of therapies in PCS and other fatigue groups and may help to implement an effective relation of exercise load to load capacity (pacing) for optimal coping with the disease and an improved handling of daily activities in patients' lives.
Clinicaltrials.gov, identifier (NCT06883500).
新冠后综合征（PCS）很常见，每100名未接种疫苗者的发病率为7.8 - 10.6，每100名接种疫苗者的发病率为3.5 - 5.3。认知和运动疲劳是常见的临床表现，严重限制了患者的职业、教育和社交活动。
本研究旨在开发一种日记，记录PCS患者每日能量水平的变化，以调整他们的康复计划。
我们在德国的两个康复中心采用共同设计方法并进行反复反馈循环，开展了一项前瞻性观察研究。使用多维疲劳量表-20（MFI - 20）对每日能量变化进行分析和验证。
最终的日记显示，PCS患者的早晨和晚上能量水平存在显著差异，分别为49.6 ± 18.6%和33.4 ± 19.7%（入院时，≤0.0001）。主动治疗时能量水平下降约5%，被动治疗时能量水平上升约5%（<0.0001）。出院时与MFI - 20的比较显示出良好的负相关性（= -0.5358，<0.0001），患者访谈表明大多数患者（= 19；95%）认为日记“有助于自我反思”且是“了解节奏调整过程的有用工具”。
讨论/结论：这本日记是一种有效且用户友好的工具，可用于在PCS患者康复期间检测和控制每日治疗的效果。它将有助于PCS及其他疲劳群体进行个性化的治疗计划和调整，可能有助于建立运动负荷与负荷能力（节奏调整）的有效关系，以最佳应对疾病并改善患者生活中日常活动的处理能力。
Clinicaltrials.gov，标识符（NCT06883500）。
