• Michele Vitacca, Mara Paneroni, Giuseppe Brunetti, Annalisa Carlucci, Bruno Balbi, Antonio Spanevello, and Nicolino Ambrosino.
• Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Respiratory Rehabilitation of the Institute of Lumezzane, Brescia, Italy. michele.vitacca@icsmaugeri.it.
• Respir Care. 2021 Nov 1; 66 (11): 165716641657-1664.

BackgroundSurvivors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated pneumonia may show exercise-induced desaturation. We wondered whether these individuals show physiologic and symptom characteristics similar to individuals with chronic respiratory diseases with exercise-induced desaturation, namely COPD or interstitial lung diseases (ILD). We evaluated lung function, exercise capacity, and symptoms in these individuals compared with individuals with COPD or ILD and exercise-induced desaturation.MethodsSurvivors of COVID-19 associated pneumonia (study individuals), normoxemic at rest with exercise-induced desaturation, underwent assessment of dyspnea, dynamic lung volumes, carbon monoxide diffusion capacity, and the 6-min walk test. Data of individuals with COPD or with ILD and exercise-induced desaturation were also retrospectively analyzed.ResultsFVC was lower in individuals with COVID-19 or ILD than in those with COPD. Individuals who had COVID-19 walked < 70% of predicted and, as a whole, had a 6-min walk test performance similar to individuals with ILD but walked significantly less, showed more severe leg fatigue and dyspnea during exercise, and more exercise-induced desaturation than individuals with COPD.ConclusionsSurvivors of COVID-19 associated pneumonia, who were normoxemic at rest with exercise-induced desaturation, had alterations in lung function, exercise capacity, and symptoms similar to individuals with ILD but more severe than individuals with COPD and exercise-induced desaturation.Copyright © 2021 by Daedalus Enterprises.

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