Evaluation of Muscle Mass and Stiffness with Limb Ultrasound in COVID-19 Survivors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

acute illnesses, like COVID-19, can act as a catabolic stimulus on muscles. So far, no study has evaluated muscle mass and quality through limb ultrasound in post-COVID-19 patients.

Methods

cross sectional observational study, including patients seen one month after hospital discharge for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. The patients underwent a multidimensional evaluation. Moreover, we performed dominant medial gastrocnemius ultrasound (US) to characterize their muscle mass and quality.

Results

two hundred fifty-nine individuals (median age 67, 59.8% males) were included in the study. COVID-19 survivors with reduced muscle strength had a lower muscle US thickness (1.6 versus 1.73 cm, p =0.02) and a higher muscle stiffness (87 versus 76.3, p = 0.004) compared to patie

SUBMITTER: Damanti S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8892603 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature