ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different SARS-CoV-2 strains on the functional capacity of athletes. METHODS: In total, 220 athletes underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) after coronavirus infection and before returning to sports activities. Eighty-eight athletes were infected by the Wuhan virus, and 66 were infected during the Delta and Omicron strain periods of the pandemic. RESULTS: The CPET results showed significantly decreased maximal oxygen consumption, ventilatory efficiency, and oxygen pulse in athletes who were infected with Wuhan and Delta strains compared to athletes who suffered from Omicron virus infection. An early transition from aerobic to anaerobic metabolic pathways for energy production was observed in the Wuhan and Delta groups but not in athletes who were infected with the Omicron strain. There were no differences in the obtained results when Wuhan and Delta virus variants were compared. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the Wuhan and Delta virus strains had a significantly greater negative impact on the functional abilities of athletes compared to the Omicron virus variant, especially in terms of aerobic capacity and cardiorespiratory function.
ABSTRACT
Background: In order to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, a temporary interruption of teaching and educational activities in classrooms occurred. Most schools and faculties were forced to switch from traditional to online teaching. Purpose: This research aims to examine the key factors influencing students' intention to use e-learning, as well as predictors of student satisfaction with online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. Study design/methodology/approach: The analysis includes 312 students on the territory of the Republic of Serbia who use e-learning. Reliability analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations modeling are applied in the paper. Findings/conclusions: It is found that course design significantly affects perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and quality of e-learning, and perceived usefulness and quality of e-learning are the main drivers of student satisfaction. Then, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and satisfaction with online teaching are important predictors of the attitude towards the use of e-learning, and attitude is an important driver of the intention to use e-learning. The results of the research and the implications derived from them can be helpful to educational institutions in creating, introducing and implementing e-learning, as well as increasing student satisfaction with online teaching during the pandemic. Limitations/future research: The limitation of the research stems from the selection of the sample (students). In addition, the research was conducted on the territory of Serbia, so the results cannot be generalized. Third, the possible bias of the respondents in giving answers can lead to wrong conclusions. The recommendation for future research is to examine the attitudes of professors who use e-learning, in addition to students. Another recommendation is to do a segment analysis (by gender, year of study) in order to develop specific strategies for each segment. Another suggestion is to compare students' opinions on e-learning and traditional ways of learning.
ABSTRACT
There is emerging evidence of prolonged recovery in survivors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), even in those with mild COVID-19. In this paper, we report a case of a 39-year-old male with excessive body weight and a history of borderline values of arterial hypertension without therapy, who was mainly complaining of progressive dyspnea after being diagnosed with mild COVID-19. According to the recent guidelines on the holistic assessment and management of patients who had COVID-19, all preferred diagnostic procedures, including multidetector computed tomography (CT), CT pulmonary angiogram, and echocardiography, should be conducted. However, in our patient, no underlying cardiopulmonary disorder has been established. Therefore, considering all additional symptoms our patient had beyond dyspnea, our initial differential diagnosis included anxiety-related dysfunctional breathing. However, psychiatric evaluation revealed that our patient had only a mild anxiety level, which was unlikely to provoke somatic complaints. We decided to perform further investigations considering that cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) represents a reliable diagnostic tool for patients with unexplained dyspnea. Finally, the CPET elucidated the diastolic dysfunction of the left ventricle, which was the most probable cause of progressive dyspnea in our patient. We suggested that, based on uncontrolled cardiovascular risk factors our patient had, COVID-19 triggered a subclinical form of heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) to become clinically manifest. Recently, the new onset, exacerbation, or transition from subclinical to clinical HFpEF has been associated with COVID-19. Therefore, in addition to the present literature, our case should warn physicians on HFpEF among survivors of COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/complications , Dyspnea/diagnosis , Dyspnea/etiology , Exercise Test , Adult , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
COVID-19 infection in athletes usually has a milder course, but in the case of complications, myocarditis and even sudden cardiac death may occur. We examined an athlete who felt symptoms upon returning to training after asymptomatic COVID-19 infection. Physical, laboratory, and echocardiography findings were normal. The cardiopulmonary exercise test was interrupted at submaximal effort due to severe dyspnea in the presence of reduced functional capacity in comparison to previous tests. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) detected the focal myocarditis. After three months of recovery, CMR still revealed the presence of focal myocarditis and the persistence of decreased functional capacity. This case raises the question of screening athletes even after asymptomatic forms of COVID-19 infection.