Clinical Assessment of Endothelial Function in Convalescent COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Multidisciplinary Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

ABSTRACT: Growing evidence points to a key role of endothelial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. In this study, we evaluated changes in endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in a cohort of convalescent COVID-19 patients undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). After swab test negativization, convalescent COVID-19 patients referring to a post-acute care facility for PR were consecutively screened for inclusion. Study procedures were performed at the time of hospitalization and discharge. We enrolled 82 convalescent COVID-19 patients (85.4% males, mean age 60.4 years). After PR, a significant improvement in most pulmonary function tests and exercise capacity was documented. FMD changed from 2.48% ± 2.01 to 4.24% ± 2.81 (p < 0.001), corresponding to a 70.9% increase. Significan

SUBMITTER: Ambrosino P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8226503 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature