ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a major health problem worldwide. In certain patients, the symptoms associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection persist beyond twelve weeks from the onset of the disease, so the objective of this study was to assess the functional capacity of these patients using the cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). Method(s): Single-center retrospective study conducted in patients who suffered from COVID-19 and presented dyspnea and/or persistent exertional fatigue after infection. The clinical characteristics of the included patients and the parameters of the CPET were evaluated, between March and December 2021. Result(s): CPET was performed on 18 patients who met the inclusion criteria. The mean time from the date of diagnosis of COVID-19 infection and the performance of the CPET was 468 +/- 129 days. Demographic characteristics are shown in figure 1. When analyzing lung function, all of them presented normal spirometry and a mean diffusion of 83.4 +/- 14.16%. Overall, a poor training index was observed in 61.1% together with ventilatory inefficiency in 55.4% of the patients [CO2 equivalents were elevated (> 35)]. No cardiovascular or metabolic alterations were observed. Conclusion(s): Our data suggest that patients who have suffered from COVID-19 and persistent fatigue and dyspnea, have ventilatory inefficiency in approximately 55% of cases, along with significant physical deconditioning.