Received: 12 September 2023 - Revised: 18 January 2024 - Accepted: 12 February 2024 DOI: 10.1002/pri.2077 REVIEW The pulmonary rehabilitation effect on long covid‐19 syndrome: A systematic review and meta‐analysis Oliver Martínez‐Pozas 1,2,3 | Erika Meléndez‐Oliva 2,3,4 | LidiaMartínezRolando 5 | JoséAntonioQuesadaRico 6,7 | Camilo Corbellini 8,9 | Eleuterio A. Sánchez Romero 2,3,10 1 Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Escuela Internacional de Doctorado, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón, Spain 2 Interdisciplinary Research Group on Musculoskeletal Disorders, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Villaviciosa de Odón, Spain 3 Physiotherapy and Orofacial Pain Working Group, Sociedad Española de Disfunción Craneomandibular y Dolor Orofacial (SEDCYDO), Madrid, Spain 4 Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Sport Sciences, European University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain 5 Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital of Móstoles, Madrid, Spain 6 Department of Clinical Medicine, Miguel Hernández University, San Juan de Alicante, Spain 7 Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), Tenerife, Spain 8 Department of Physiotherapy, LUNEX International University of Health, Exercise and Sports, Differdange, Luxembourg 9 Luxembourg Health & Sport Sciences Research Institute A.S.B.L., Differdange, Luxembourg 10 Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Villaviciosa de Odón, Spain Correspondence Eleuterio A. Sánchez Romero, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Tajo, s/n, Urbanización El Bosque, Villaviciosa de Odón 28670, Spain. Email: eleuterio.sanchez@universidadeuropea. es Erika Meléndez‐Oliva. Email: erika.melendez@universidadeuropea.es Funding information Award for Best Research Project in post‐ COVID‐19 sequelae; the Ilustre Colegio Profesional de Fisioterapeutas de la Comunidad de Madrid, December 2021 Abstract Objectives: This systematic review and meta‐analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in improving dyspnea, fatigue, physical activity, quality of life, anxiety and depression in patients with Long COVID‐19 (LC). The impact of PR on LC and a comparison of face‐to‐face and telerehabilitation ap- proaches was explored. Methods: This systematic review and meta‐analysis followed PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO. A literature search included PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library until January 2023. No language filters were applied. Randomized controlled trials, non‐randomized controlled trials, and observational studies were included. The risk of bias was assessed using appropriate tools. Descriptive analysis and meta‐analysis were performed. Forest plots presented results. Statistical analyses were conducted using the Metafor Package in R v.3.4.2. Results/Findings: This systematic review and meta‐analysis included 16 studies on PR in LC patients. A total of 1027 adults were included. The studies varied in design, with seven observational studies, three quasi‐experimental studies, and six ran- domized controlled trials. Dyspnea, physical function, quality of life, psychological state, and fatigue were assessed as outcomes. The review found that pulmonary This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. © 2024 The Authors. Physiotherapy Research International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Physiother Res Int. 2024;e2077. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pri - 1of20 https://doi.org/10.1002/pri.2077