Table 2.
Baseline characteristics
| ENO Breathe (n=74) | Usual care (n=76) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 49 (12) | 50 (12) | ||
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 58 (78%) | 63 (83%) | ||
| Male | 14 (19%) | 12 (16%) | ||
| Other gender or prefer not to say | 2 (3%) | 1 (1%) | ||
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White | 60 (82%) | 62 (82%) | ||
| Black or Black British | 1 (1%) | 7 (9%) | ||
| Asian or British Asian | 4 (5%) | 3 (4%) | ||
| Mixed or multiple ethnic backgrounds | 3 (4%) | 2 (3%) | ||
| Other | 4 (5%) | 1 (1%) | ||
| Prefer not to say | 2 (3%) | 1 (1%) | ||
| English spoken as other language | 6 (10%) | 5 (8%) | ||
| Body-mass index,* kg/m2 | 26·85 (5·95) | 28·11 (8·10) | ||
| Number of comorbidities | 1 (0–1) | 1 (0–1) | ||
| Number of days since COVID-19 symptoms started | 330 (124) | 311 (130) | ||
| Admitted to hospital | 11 (15%) | 15 (20%) | ||
| Not admitted to hospital | 63 (85%) | 61 (80%) | ||
| Current treatments for long COVID, components of usual care | ||||
| Physiotherapy | 28 (38%) | 29 (38%) | ||
| Speech and language therapy | 1 (1%) | 1 (1%) | ||
| Occupational therapy | 1 (1%) | 2 (3%) | ||
| Clinical psychology | 2 (3%) | 2 (3%) | ||
| Respiratory nurse | 0 | 1 (1%) | ||
| Dietician | 0 | 1 (1%) | ||
| Complementary therapies† | 5 (7%) | 4 (5%) | ||
| Medications | ||||
| Oral medications‡ | 6 (8%) | 3 (4%) | ||
| Inhalers | 3 (4%) | 7 (9%) | ||
| Waiting for physiotherapy or speech and language therapy | 6 (8%) | 8 (11%) | ||
| No current active treatments directed at long COVID symptoms | 29 (39%) | 33 (43%) | ||
| Self-reported perceived barriers to participation at baseline | ||||
| None | 70 (95%) | 71 (93%) | ||
| Perceived barrier§ | 4 (5%) | 5 (7%) | ||
| Outcome measures | ||||
| RAND SF-36 MHC score | 30·89 (10·20) | 33·21 (9·83) | ||
| RAND SF-36 PHC score | 31·77 (7·44) | 32·18 (7·41) | ||
| CAT score | 21·30 (7·18) | 19·34 (6·60) | ||
| Anxiety (GAD-7 score) | 8·57 (5·54) | 7·38 (5·54) | ||
| Dyspnoea-12 score | 16·08 (7·25) | 15·83 (7·86) | ||
| VAS breathlessness rest | 23·32 (20·73) | 26·67 (22·41) | ||
| VAS breathlessness walking | 38·51 (23·88) | 41·07 (26·78) | ||
| VAS breathlessness stairs | 60·18 (24·12) | 59·09 (26·96) | ||
| VAS breathlessness running | 83·53 (23·19) | 81·71 (24·62) | ||
Data are mean (SD), n (%), or median (IQR). CAT=chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test. ENO=English National Opera. GAD-7=generalised anxiety disorder-7 questionnaire. MHC=mental health composite. PHC=physical health composite. RAND SF-36=RAND 36-item short form survey instrument. VAS=visual analogue scale.
Body-mass index data were missing for one participant in each group.
Complementary therapies in the ENO Breathe group: yoga (n=1), osteopathy (n=2), acupuncture (n=1), vitamin supplements (n=1); in the usual care group: yoga (n=1), acupuncture (n=1), vitamin supplements (n=1), meditation (n=1).
Oral medications included analgesics, β-blockers, and proton-pump inhibitors.
Perceived barriers in the ENO Breathe group: has smartphone but no computer (n=2), autism (n=1), barrier not specified (n=1); in usual care group: mobility limitation (n=1), limited technical access (n=1), eye strain on extended screen use (n=1), severe dyslexia (n=1), not previously used video conferencing application (n=1).