Long COVID Symptoms Improve With Outpatient Intervention
MedPage Today December 19, 2024
— Cognitive and behavioral therapy boosted physical function in pragmatic trial
Self-reported physical function was better for long COVID patients after a brief outpatient program based on cognitive and behavioral therapy, a pragmatic trial in Norway showed.
Scores on the Short-Form Health Survey 36 Physical Function Subscale (SF-36-PFS) — a 100-point scale with higher scores reflecting better physical functioning — improved in the intervention group compared with usual care (difference 9.2 points, 95% CI 4.3-14.2, P<0.001; Cohen d = 0.43), reported Tom Farmen Nerli, MD, of Vestfold Hospital Trust in Tønsberg, Norway, and co-authors.
The between-group difference was nearly identical at long-term follow-up (12 months after enrollment), indicating a sustained effect, Nerli and colleagues wrote in JAMA Network Open.
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