The present global pandemic of COVID-19 has led to increase morbidity and mortality. The more common causes of morbidity and mortality in these patients are pneumonia and respiratory failure, which cause the patients to require artificial ventilation and other techniques that can improve respiratory function. One of these techniques is chest physiotherapy, and this has been shown to improve gas exchange, decrease pathological progression, and reduce the need for artificial ventilation when it is provided very early in other respiratory conditions. For patients with COVID-19, there is limited evidence on its effect, especially in the acute stage and in patients on ventilators. In this line, the current review discusses the important role of chest physiotherapy in critically ill mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19, around the weaning process, and how it can be safely applied with careful organization. The aim of this article is to critically review the nature of respiratory problems in patients with COVID-19 and the safety and efficacy of the use of chest physiotherapy for these patients. Therefore, for the purpose of this review, PubMed and Google Scholar were searched using COVID-19, chest physiotherapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation as keywords.

KEYWORDS: COVID 19, Chest Physiotherapy, Pulmonary rehabilitation.