Altered Vascular Endothelium-Dependent Responsiveness in Frail Elderly Patients Recovering from COVID-19 Pneumonia: Preliminary Evidence.
J Clin Med
; 10(12)2021 Jun 09.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1264481
ABSTRACT
We evaluated vascular dysfunction with the single passive leg movement test (sPLM) in 22 frail elderly patients at 84 + 31 days after hospitalization for COVID-19 pneumonia, compared to 22 age-, sex- and comorbidity-matched controls (CTRL). At rest, all COVID-19 patients were in stable clinical condition without severe comorbidities. Patients (aged 72 ± 6 years, 73% male) had moderate disability (Barthel index score 77 ± 26), hypoxemia and normocapnia at arterial blood gas analysis and mild pulmonary restriction at spirometry. Values of circulating markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein CRP; erythrocyte sedimentation rate ESR) and coagulation (D-dimer) were 27.13 ± 37.52 mg/dL, 64.24 ± 32.37 mm/1 h and 1043 ± 729 ng/mL, respectively. At rest, femoral artery diameter was similar in COVID-19 and CTRL (p = 0.16). On the contrary, COVID-19 infection deeply impacted blood velocity (p = 0.001) and femoral blood flow (p < 0.0001). After sPLM, peak femoral blood flow was dramatically reduced in COVID-19 compared to CTRL (p = 0.001), as was blood flow ∆peak (p = 0.05) and the area under the curve (p < 0.0001). This altered vascular responsiveness could be one of the unknown components of long COVID-19 syndrome leading to fatigue, changes in muscle metabolism and fibers' composition, exercise intolerance and increased cardiovascular risk. Impact of specific treatments, such as exercise training, dietary supplements or drugs, should be evaluated.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
/
Traditional medicine
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jcm10122558
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