In March 2020, University Hospital (UH) Dubrava will become the dedicated hospital for COVID-19 patients. Patients with pulmonary damage were admitted to UH Dubrava via the emergency department and assigned to different wards based on disease severity and comorbidity. Acute respiratory failure patients were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Many patients developed an addiction to some form of oxygen therapy. Patients in the acute phase of the disease’s functional capacity are affected by the COVID-19 systemic pattern (1). The purpose of this paper was to describe the experience and work of a physiotherapist at UH Dubrava during the pandemic in treating COVID-19 patients in the acute phase of the disease.

We wanted to show what clinical challenges the physiotherapists faced in a sample of 210 patients (97 women, 113 men), with an average age of 70 years. The information was obtained from the Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine with Rheumatology’s database. The severity of the disease’s symptoms with comorbidities present, cognitive status, and the final treatment outcome are all presented in percentages, as are the developed symptoms of ARDS, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, and the associated form of oxygen therapy. Eighty-two percent of the total number of patients were discharged for home care. We believe that respiratory physical therapy has aided these patients’ recovery and quicker reintegration into normal life. Unfortunately, 18% of patients died as a result of the disease.

Based on the physiotherapist’s experience at the UH Dubrava in conducting early inquiry and physiotherapy intervention in the clinical care of patients, good teamwork and daily monitoring of parameters from the hospital information system database were extremely beneficial. As a result, we developed an early rehabilitation strategy that we thought was best for patients at the time.