Two studies published today reveal new findings on long COVID, with one showing a possible role for cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) for the evaluation of persistent symptoms, and the other finding a link between symptomatic infection and poor quality of life and reduced ability to complete daily activities.Lower average peak oxygen consumptionIn a systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open, a team led by University of California San Francisco (UCSF) scientists analyzed 38 CPET studies—mostly case series or cross-sectional studies of posthospitalization patients before widespread COVID-19 vaccination—in 2,160 patients 3 to 18 months after infection.A total of 1,228 patients had long-COVID symptoms, and 714 had reduced exercise capacity.
The studies were extracted on Dec 20, 2021, and May 24, 2022, and a preprint search was conducted on Jun 9, 2022.CPET, the gold standard for measuring exercise capacity and determining the differential diagnostic considerations of exercise limitations, is useful for the evaluation of unexplained shortness of breath, heart failure, lung disease, and preoperative assessments, the study authors said.
It is a type of stress test and has also been used in research into persistent symptoms after severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), shortness of breath in HIV patients, and exercise intolerance in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.After participants' resting cardiopulmonary indicators are measured, they exercise on a stationary bike or treadmill while their gas exchange and cardiopulmonary parameters are monitored. "Measuring oxygen consumption (V̇o2) allows for objective and reproducible determination of exercise capacity, determination of anaerobic