• Tamara Iturriaga, Fernanda Salazar-Pérez, Marta Casallo-Cerezo, Guillermo García-Pérez-de-Sevilla, Alicia Sosa-Pedreschi, Ignacio Diez-Vega, Marta Supervia, Olga Arroyo, and Margarita Pérez-Ruiz.
• Sport Sci, MSc, PhD. Professor, Department of Sports Sciences, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2024 Jan 1; 142 (4): e2023167e2023167.

BackgroundPatients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) often require hospital admission and experience sequelae such as chronic fatigue or low muscle mass.ObjectiveTo analyze the functional capacity of a cohort of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 who required hospitalization.Design And SettingAn observational descriptive study was conducted on post-COVID-19 patients referred to the Rehabilitation Department of Gregorio Marañón Hospital (Madrid, SPAIN).MethodsCardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, body composition, and perception of fatigue and dyspnea were analyzed. Furthermore, the existing correlations between clinical variables and physical conditions were analyzed.ResultsForty-two patients who required hospital admission (80 ± 22.45 days) or intensive care unit (ICU) admission (58 ± 10.52 days) were analyzed. They presented with decreased strength, respiratory capacity, and moderate-to-severe perceived fatigue. Additionally, an inverse correlation was found between right-handgrip strength and days in the ICU, as well as the 6-minute walk test for women. Similarly, strength and fitness were negatively associated with perceived fatigue.ConclusionsPost-COVID-19 patients showed low muscle function and low levels of physical fitness associated with high perceived fatigue.

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