key: cord-0933784-10c0cxxc authors: Chang, Min Cheol; Boudier-Revéret, Mathieu title: Usefulness of telerehabilitation for stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic date: 2020-05-11 journal: Am J Phys Med Rehabil DOI: 10.1097/phm.0000000000001468 sha: e19eb6bc9b942914e46ae29f7666ed86ff3f81c3 doc_id: 933784 cord_uid: 10c0cxxc nan without the physician and patient meeting in person. While there are many rehabilitation therapy methods and programs based on telerehabilitation, they typically involve the medical staff checking the patient's condition, showing rehabilitation therapy examples to the patient or their guardian, and using photographs or videos to demonstrate how rehabilitation therapy should be performed. Motor, language, and cognitive functions can be assessed by video or by using specially designed programs. Many studies have analyzed the effectiveness of telerehabilitation, with the majority reporting that telerehabilitation is comparable to in-clinic rehabilitation in terms of improving motor, language, and cognitive functions. In 2019, Cramer et al. 3 compared the effectiveness of home-based rehabilitation for stroke patients using telemedicine (62 patients) to that of in-clinic rehabilitation (62 patients). A total of 36 therapy sessions (70 minutes each) were designed to improve arm motor function. In this study, both therapy groups displayed significant improvements in arm motor function, showing that telerehabilitation was as effective as in-clinic rehabilitation. Furthermore, over 50% of stroke patients have depression or anxiety. 4 Such psychological problems could be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, because patients are isolated from the wider community. Drug therapy and counseling must be provided to these patients. With telerehabilitation, patients can receive prescriptions for medication and counseling for psychological stabilization without visiting the hospital. The effectiveness of counseling by telemedicine has been demonstrated in many previous studies 5 . Such a service could significantly improve the mental health of stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. tested for COVID-19. If it is determined that there is no need for a COVID-19 test, then unnecessary hospital visits can be avoided. Moreover, for stroke patients with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and are in self-quarantine at home, telerehabilitation could be used to check for changes in symptoms and quickly detect symptom exacerbation to ensure they receive on-time treatment. To summarize, we examined the beneficial effects that telerehabilitation may have on stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. While rehabilitation therapy is essential for such patients, becoming infected with COVID-19 could result in severe illness and death. Protecting stroke patients from COVID-19 is therefore extremely important, and we suggest telerehabilitation as a useful approach in the rehabilitation of stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. Risk factors of critical & mortal COVID-19 cases: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis Cerebrovascular disease is associated with an increased disease severity in patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A pooled analysis of published literature Efficacy of Home-Based Telerehabilitation vs In-Clinic Therapy for Adults After Stroke: A Randomized Clinical Trial The effects of forest therapy on depression and anxiety in patients with chronic stroke Measures of Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Quality of Telemedicine in the Management of Alcohol Abuse