Intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic therapy in rehabilitation of patients with post-COVID syndrome

Over five years have passed since the COVID-19 outbreak, but the rehabilitation of coronavirus patients still remains a highly relevant issue. In the search for new rehabilitation approaches, researchers have turned their attention to intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic therapy (IHHT) as a means of restoring impaired physical and psychological body reserves. IHHT promotes comprehensive recovery by modulating metabolic and immune processes as well as antioxidant defenses. Numerous clinical studies indicate the potential of this rehabilitation modality, which is supported by its efficacy, safety, and the preservation of achieved effects for three to six months. The reviewed publications report the IHHT effectiveness in patients with combined pathology. However, a number of identified limitations currently prevents this method from being scaled up to the level of standard rehabilitation protocols, which, together with the existing body of evidence, raises the need for a large multicenter study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of IHHT in patients with post‑COVID syndrome of varying severity.

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