International Journal of Preventive Medicine (Int J Prev Med)2008-78021412202404083238EN1 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran2 Department of Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Adult Health Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran3 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Isfahan, Iran,4 Department of Community and Prevention, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, Iran1 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran20240408<p>Background: Patients with severe COVID‑19 suffer from various problems such as impaired lung function, decreased exercise capacity, mental disorders, and reduced quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of short‑term pulmonary rehabilitation in patients recovering from severe COVID‑19. Methods: The present study was a retrospective cohort study. This study was conducted in 2021 on 92 patients with severe COVID‑19 who met the inclusion criteria. Inter‑professional pulmonary rehabilitation sessions were performed for 3 weeks, twice a week (six sessions in total), for this group of patients, which included physical exercises, educational activities, and other health‑related services (counseling and psychotherapy). Outcomes assessed included a 6‑min walk test, the score of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the SF‑12 Quality of Life Questionnaire, which were completed before and after pulmonary rehabilitation. Data analysis was performed using analytical and descriptive statistics. Results: The statistical analyses showed that 60.86% of patients participating in the study were male and 39.14% were female, and the mean age of patients was 54.9 ± 12.3 years. The findings also showed that the average distance traveled in the 6‑min walk test before pulmonary rehabilitation was 289.2174 ± 130.5 m; however, after the intervention, this rate reached 343.0870 ± 103.5 m, which demonstrated a statistically significant difference (P = 0.00). Also, significant changes were observed in anxiety and depression, the ability to perform daily activities, and the physical health of patients before and after the intervention (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusions: Short‑term pulmonary rehabilitation is a safe and useful treatment without side effects that can be effective in reducing anxiety and depression, increasing the ability to perform daily activities and exercise capacity, and consequently, improving the quality of life of patients recovering from severe COVID‑19.</p><p><span class="ej-journal-name" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic; font-weight: 500; color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">International Journal of Preventive Medicine<span> </span></span><span id="ej-journal-date-volume-issue-pg" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #005b92; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" href="https://journals.lww.com/ijom/toc/2023/12000">14():134, December 2023.</a></span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span> </span>|<span> </span></span><span class="ej-journal-doi" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic; font-weight: 500; color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">DOI:<span> </span></span><span style="color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_320_22</span></p><p> </p><p>Corresponding Author: Dr. Ramin Sami</p><p>E‑mail: r.sami@med.mui.ac.ir</p><p>You can also search for this author in: <a title="PubMed" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%28%28Ramin+Sami%5BAuthor%5D%29+AND+%28Isfahan+University+of+Medical+Sciences%5BAffiliation%5D%29%29">PubMed</a>  <a title="Google Scholar" href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XbVBHvkAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">Google Scholar</a></p>http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/view/2890http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/download/2890/717718731