Muscle strength and functionality after hospital discharge of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome due to COVID-19
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2176-7262.rmrp.2025.224427Keywords:
Coronavirus infection, Intensive Care Unit, Muscle strength, Functional capacityAbstract
Background: COVID-19 can be severe, requiring hospitalization, supplemental oxygen, intensive care, and invasive mechanical ventilation. Objective: To evaluate muscle strength and functionality after hospital discharge of patients who received COVID-19 intensive care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a university hospital in northeastern Brazil. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected from electronic medical records. Functionality was assessed through the Barthel, Katz, and Karnofsky indices. Respiratory and peripheral muscle strength were checked using manovacuometry and dynamometry. For statistical analysis, linear regressions, Pearson’s correlation matrix, and mixed models were adopted to assess the effect of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) time on respiratory and peripheral muscle strength, the relationships between these strengths, and differences between actual and predicted maximum inspiratory pressure and maximum expiratory pressure. Results: Twenty-one patients were evaluated 180 to 365 days after hospital discharge. Results revealed peripheral muscle weakness in ten (47.6%), inspiratory muscle weakness in six (28.6%), and expiratory muscle weakness in seven (33.3%). Five patients (23.8%) were unfit for work. Conclusion: Increased invasive mechanical ventilation time was associated with reduced muscle strength and impaired functionality 180 to 365 days after hospital discharge.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maria Jhany da Silva Marques, Maria dos Remédios Freitas Carvalho Branco, Yuri Oliveira Feitosa, Érica Miranda de Castro, Carlos Magno Monteiro Souza, Cláudia Maria Coelho Alves
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