Professional role of hospital physiotherapy services against coronavirus infecctions

Abstract

In the face of the pandemic, there was an important growth of demands on health professionals. It is important to have delimited attributions for each position aiming less burden and better care effectiveness. Physiotherapists plays a fundamental role in the care of patients with complications of the disease. The objective of this research was to analyze the physical therapist's knowledge about COVID-19 and role in face of the pandemic in a public hospital Mixed cross-sectional study, with a descriptive quantitative and exploratory qualitative method, carried out in a public hospital in Goiânia. The physiotherapists filled out an anamnesis form and a questionnaire with pre-structured questions about the attributions of physiotherapy in the hospital environment. The population was composed of 13 professionals. Most considered as physiotherapy assignments the implementation of oxygen therapy (100%), the management of invasive and non-invasive ventilation (100%), participation in orotracheal intubation (92.30%), airway aspiration (100%), extubation (92.30%), and checking the cuff pressure of the orotracheal tube (92.30%) and changing the mechanical ventilator filter (92.30%). A large portion of the profissionals (46.15%) considered that the mobilization of these patients must occur frequently. Physiotherapists demonstrated knowledge in relation to COVID-19, and regarding there functions against the pandemic. There is still confusion regarding the performance of some procedures related to the respiratory area in the hospital environment.