Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2021 Mar 2;21(1):64.
doi: 10.1186/s12871-021-01274-0.

Muscle weakness, functional capacities and recovery for COVID-19 ICU survivors

Clément Medrinal  1   2   3   4 , Guillaume Prieur  5   6   7   8 , Tristan Bonnevie  5   6   9 , Francis-Edouard Gravier  5   6   9 , Denys Mayard  10 , Emmanuelle Desmalles  10 , Pauline Smondack  9 , Bouchra Lamia  5   6   11   12 , Yann Combret  7   8 , Guillaume Fossat  10
Affiliations
Observational Study

Muscle weakness, functional capacities and recovery for COVID-19 ICU survivors

Clément Medrinal et al. BMC Anesthesiol. .

Abstract

Background: Few studies have evaluated muscle strength in COVID-19 ICU survivors. We aimed to report the incidence of limb and respiratory muscle weakness in COVID-19 ICU survivors.

Method: We performed a cross sectional study in two ICU tertiary Hospital Settings. COVID-19 ICU survivors were screened and respiratory and limb muscle strength were measured at the time of extubation. An ICU mobility scale was performed at ICU discharge and walking capacity was self-evaluated by patients 30 days after weaning from mechanical ventilation.

Results: Twenty-three patients were included. Sixteen (69%) had limb muscle weakness and 6 (26%) had overlap limb and respiratory muscle weakness. Amount of physiotherapy was not associated with muscle strength. 44% of patients with limb weakness were unable to walk 100 m 30 days after weaning.

Conclusion: The large majority of COVID-19 ICU survivors developed ICU acquired limb muscle weakness. 44% of patients with limb weakness still had severely limited function one-month post weaning.

Keywords: COVID-19; Intensive care unit; Mechanical ventilation; Muscle weakness; Physiotherapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Nothing to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Individual values of the MRC-Score according to the MIP
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Zhou F, Yu T, Du R, Fan G, Liu Y, Liu Z, et al. Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2020;395:1054–1062. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30566-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Medrinal C, Combret Y, Hilfiker R, Prieur G, Aroichane N, Gravier F-E, et al. ICU outcomes can be predicted by non invasive muscle evaluation: a meta-analysis. Eur Respir J. 2020;56:1902482. - PubMed
    1. Thomas P, Baldwin C, Bissett B, Boden I, Gosselink R, Granger CL, et al. Physiotherapy management for COVID-19 in the acute hospital setting: clinical practice recommendations. J Physiother. 2020;66:73–82. doi: 10.1016/j.jphys.2020.03.011. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Du Y, Tu L, Zhu P, Mu M, Wang R, Yang P, et al. Clinical features of 85 fatal cases of COVID-19 from Wuhan. A retrospective observational study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020;201:1372–1379. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202003-0543OC. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. COVID-19 Consortium. Van Aerde N, Van den Berghe G, Wilmer A, Gosselink R, Hermans G. Intensive care unit acquired muscle weakness in COVID-19 patients. Intensive Care Med. 2020;46:2083–2085. doi: 10.1007/s00134-020-06244-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types