Key result
Elevated VE/VCO2 slope in post-COVID athletes is linked to lower maximal ventilatory efficiency and FVC.
Why the study?
Although exercise capacity limitation is undescribed in post-COVID-19 athletes, recovered patients without cardiopulmonary impairment show exaggerated ventilatory responses during exercise.
Cross-Sectional (n=37)
No
Competitive athletes recovered from COVID-19 may exhibit ventilatory inefficiency during exercise without a limitation in overall exercise capacity, which correlates with lower forced vital capacity.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May indicate subclinical ventilatory inefficiency without exercise limitation in male athletes post-COVID; hypothesis-generating for reduced FVC links.
Limitation in exercise capacity has not been described in athletes affected by SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. However, patients who have recovered from COVID‐19 without cardiopulmonary impairment show exaggerated ventilatory response during exercise. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the ventilatory efficiency (VEf) in competitive athletes recovered from COVID‐19 and to characterize the ventilation versus carbon dioxide relationship (VE/VCO 2 ) slope in this population. Thirty‐seven competitive athletes with COVID‐19 were recruited for this study. All participants underwent spirometry, echocardiography, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). z ‐FVC values and end‐title pressure of CO 2 (P ET CO 2 ) were lower in the third tertile compared with the first tertile: −0.753 ± 0.473 vs. 0.037 ± 0.911, p = 0.05; 42.2 ± 2.7 vs. 37.1 ± 2.5 mmHg, p < 0.01. VE/VCO 2 slope was significantly correlated to maximal VCO 2 /VE and maximal VO 2 /VE: coefficient = −0.5 R 2 = 0.58, p < 0.0001 and coefficient = −0.3 R 2 = 0.16, p = 0.008. Competitive athletes affected by SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, without cardio‐respiratory disease sequel, may present ventilatory inefficiency (ViE), without exercise capacity limitation. FVC is higher in athletes with better ventilatory performance during exercise, and increased VE/VCO 2 slope is inversely correlated to max VCO 2 /VE and max VO 2 /VE.
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Komici et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Post-COVID-19 (n=37). Ventilatory efficiency (VE/VCO2 slope) vs. First vs third tertile of VE/VCO2 slope was evaluated on Correlation between VE/VCO2 slope and maximal VCO2/VE (R2 = 0.58, p=<0.0001). In male competitive athletes recovered from COVID-19, increased VE/VCO2 slope was inversely correlated with maximal VCO2/VE (R2=0.58, p<0.0001) and associated with lower forced vital capacity.
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