Impact of COVID-19 on fatigue and exercise capacity in patients treated at a municipaltertiary care hospital dedicated to COVID-19 management

COVID 19 is a highly contagious disease caused by a novel virus SARS COV2 which was identified in the Wuhan city of China in December 2019. As Covid 19 primarily affects the lungs, it causes reduced oxygen supply to the periphery leading to peripheral fatigue. Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms like fatigue, myalgia and arthralgia has been proved in patients with COVID 19. Exercise capacity is defined as the maximum amount of physical exertion that a patient can sustain. A decline in the TLC [Total Lung Capacity] and subsequent reduction in exercise capacity in Covid-19 has been observed in early convalescence phase. Studies have shown that increasing the exercise capacity improves the function of immune and respiratory systems in patients with Covid-19.

The aim of our study is to assess the impact of Covid-19 on fatigue and exercise capacity in patients treated at a municipal tertiary care hospital dedicated to COVID-19 management.

It is a cross-sectional, observational study on 75 stable patients tested positive for COVID-19 who are willing to participate in the study. After obtaining a written consent, the participants will be administered Fatigue Assessment Scale and One Minute Sit to Stand test will be performed. The patient’s CPK and CRP levels will be recorded. Time required is about 8-10 minutes.

Data will be collected and tested for normal distribution using Kolmogorov Smirnov Test. If the data passes normality test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient will be used to test the correlation between outcome measures. If the data does not pass normality test, Spearman Rank’s correlation will be used to test the correlation between outcome measures.