Diaphragm dysfunction in severe COVID-19 as determined by neuromuscular ultrasound

Abstract

Many survivors from severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) suffer from persistent dyspnea and fatigue long after resolution of the active infection. In a cohort of 21 consecutive severe post-COVID-19 survivors admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital, 16 (76%) of them had at least one sonographic abnormality of diaphragm muscle structure or function. This corresponded to a significant reduction in diaphragm muscle contractility as represented by thickening ratio (muscle thickness at maximal inspiration/end-expiration) for the post-COVID-19 compared to non-COVID-19 cohorts. These findings may shed new light on neuromuscular respiratory dysfunction as a contributor to prolonged functional impairments after hospitalization for post-COVID-19.

Other

original_citation: Farr E, Wolfe AR, Deshmukh S, Rydberg L, Soriano R, Walter JM, Boon AJ, Wolfe LF, Franz CK. Diaphragm dysfunction in severe COVID-19 as determined by neuromuscular ultrasound. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. 2021;8(8):1745-1749.

Files

Additional details