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Cardiopulmonary Exercise Tests in Patients With Long COVID

Completed
Conditions
Long COVID
COVID Long-Haul
Interventions
Procedure: 2 day cardiopulmonary exercise test
Registration Number
NCT06394921
Lead Sponsor
Sheffield Hallam University
Brief Summary

The value of clinical cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) within healthcare settings has been established in the last decade. CPET methods remain highly relevant in the COVID-19 endemic phase and should be used to assess those recovering from COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This diagnostic tool could play an integral role in disease prognostication and evaluate the integrative response to incremental exercise. Date from such assessments can enable practitioners to characterise cardio-respiratory fitness and identify reasons for physical impairment or abnormal cardio-respiratory function. More than 50% of patients admitted to hospital will experience cardiorespiratory issues and significant morbidity during their recovery and will require significant rehabilitative support. In this context, measurements obtained from an assessment of cardio-respiratory responses to physiological stress could provide insight regarding the integrity of the pulmonary-vascular interface and characterisation of any impairment or abnormal cardio-respiratory function. Current approaches to rehabilitation are being developed on existing knowledge from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) related illness. These provide important insight but do not provide insight into the novel challenges provided by COVID-19.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
146
Inclusion Criteria
  • • Aged 18 to 65 years old

    • Diagnosed with COVID-19
    • Still suffering from symptoms of COVID-19, 3 months after initial infection
    • Sufficient English language comprehension and cognitive ability to understand the study protocol, give informed consent and follow instructions.
Exclusion Criteria
  • • <18 years of age

    • Admitted to or received treatment from Intensive Care Units
    • Unconfirmed COVID-19 test diagnosis
    • Unable to understand verbal or written information in English
    • Achieving a grade 0 or 1 on the PCFS.
    • Unstable angina
    • Uncontrolled hypertension, that is, resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) >180mmHg, or resting diastolic blood pressure (BP) (DBP) >110mmHg
    • Orthostatic blood pressure drop of >20 mmHg with symptoms
    • Significant aortic stenosis (aortic valve area 120 bpm)
    • Acute pericarditis or myocarditis
    • Decompensated HF
    • Third degree (complete) atrioventricular (AV) block without pacemaker
    • Recent embolism
    • Acute thrombophlebitis
    • Resting ST segment displacement (>2 mm)
    • Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus
    • Severe orthopaedic conditions that would prohibit exercise
    • Other metabolic conditions, such as acute thyroiditis, hypokalaemia, hyperkalaemia or hypovolaemia (until adequately treated)
    • Severe grade 3 rejection (cardiac transplantation recipients Appendix N).

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
People with Long COVID2 day cardiopulmonary exercise testEligibility * Aged 18 to 65 years old * Diagnosed with COVID-19 * Still suffering from symptoms and experiencing functional limitations beyond 3 months after initial COVID-19 infection (quantified as PCFS grade 1 or greater). * Sufficient English language comprehension and cognitive ability to understand the study protocol, give informed consent and follow instructions.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test- Minute VentilationDuring CPET1 and CPET2

Minute Ventilation using breath by breath (l/min)

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test: Maximal Rate of Oxygen UtilisationDuring CPET1 and CPET2

Maximal Rate of Oxygen Utilisation per kg body mass (VO2max; ml/kg/min)

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test- Respiratory ThresholdDuring CPET1 and CPET2

Respiratory Threshold breath by breath (l/min)

Prevalence of symptoms of post exertional Malaise7 days post exercise

Symptom Profile post exercise protocols- Questionnaire

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test- Respiratory Exchange RatioDuring CPET1 and CPET2

Respiratory Exchange Ratio (VO2/VCO2)

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test- Blood lactateDuring CPET1 and CPET2

Blood Lactate Concentration from fingertip (mmol/l)

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test- Rate of Oxygen UtilisationDuring CPET1 and CPET2

Rate of Oxygen Utilisation (VO2; l/min)

Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test- Rate of carbon dioxide productionDuring CPET1 and CPET2

Rate of Carbon Dioxide Production (VCO2; l/min)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
EchocardiogramBaseline, Day 1 and Day 2

12 lead echocardiogram.

Blood biomarkers of Inflammation- IL-6Day 1 and Day 2

Concentration of Interleukin 6

Blood biomarkers of Inflammation- MicroclotsDay 1 and Day 2

Number of Microclots

Blood biomarkers of Inflammation- CRPDay 1 and Day 2

C-Reactive protein Concentration

Exercise Diastolic Blood PressureBaseline, Day 1 and Day 2

Diastolic Blood Pressure During Exercise (mmHg)

Exercise Systolic Blood PressureBaseline, Day 1 and Day 2

Systolic Blood Pressure During Exercise (mmHg)

Blood biomarkers of Inflammation- D-DimerDay 1 and Day 2

D-Dimer Concentration

Resting Diastolic Blood PressureBaseline, Day 1 and Day 2

Diastolic Blood Pressure at Rest (mmHg)

Blood biomarkers of Inflammation- IL-1Day 1 and Day 2

Concentration of Interleukin 1

Resting Systolic Blood PressureBaseline, Day 1 and Day 2

Systolic Blood Pressure at Rest (mmHg)

Trial Locations

Locations (5)

University of Derby

🇬🇧

Derby, Derbyshire, United Kingdom

Ramaiah Medical College

🇮🇳

Bengaluru, India

University of Illinois at Chicago

🇺🇸

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Sheffield Hallam University

🇬🇧

Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Northumbria University

🇬🇧

Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

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