Sarcopenia and multisensory integration deficit in post-COVID syndrome patients: the Clinical, Ultrasound and Robotic Evaluation (CURE) protocol in a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Post-COVID syndrome affects relatively young outpatients with fatigue as the mostly reported symptom. We wondered whether sarcopenia could play a role. METHODS: Seventy-four outpatients (median age 53.8 years, 45 females), reporting fatigue and persistent mild neurological/motor deficits, completed the Clinical Ultrasound and Robotic Evaluation (CURE) protocol 4.8 months after the infection. RESULTS: The incidence of sarcopenia was 41%. Sarcopenic patients were older (62.7 vs 46.4 years, p < 0.001), they experienced longer infection (33 vs 24 days, p = 0.006) and higher incidence of hospitalization (86.6 vs 29.5 %, p < 0.001), they did not report more fatigue (44.5 vs 48, p = 0.424), but they walked slower (1.27 vs 1.5 m/s, p = 0.027).After multivariable adjustment using multiple logistic regression, sarcopenia was dependent on age (OR 1.09) and on the duration of the disease (OR 1.04).When expressed as z-score, in 79% of patients the sway path during elastic balance shifted significantly towards negative values with closed eye, indicating multisensory integration deficit. CONCLUSION: Post-COVID syndrome in relatively young outpatients complaining mild motor deficit is associated to high incidence of sarcopenia. In addition, they suffer from multisensory integration deficit that further contributes to symptoms. The CURE protocol is able to objectivize symptoms that common diagnostic tool cannot reveal.