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Skeletal Muscles of Patients Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Develop Severe Myofiber Damage upon One Week of Admission on the Intensive Care Unit
- Source :
- Applied Sciences, Vol 12, Iss 14, p 7310 (2022)
- Publication Year :
- 2022
- Publisher :
- MDPI AG, 2022.
-
Abstract
- Many critically ill patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been submitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Patients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection that survive critical illness are confronted with months of physical impairments. To maximize recovery, it is important to understand the musculoskeletal involvement in critically ill patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. The aim of the present study was to assess the myocellular changes in SARS-CoV-2 patients that occur throughout the first week of ICU admission. In n = 22 critically ill patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, a biopsy sample from the vastus lateralis muscle was obtained at day 1–3 and day 5–8 following ICU admission. Fluorescence microscopy was used to assess type I and type II muscle fiber size and distribution, myonuclear content, and muscle tissue capillarization. Transmission electron microscopy was used to support quantitative data at an ultrastructural level. Changes in type I and type II muscle fiber size showed large inter-individual variation. The average change in type I fiber size was +309 ± 1834 µm2, ranging from −2129 µm2 (−31%) to +3375 µm2 (+73%). The average change in type II fiber size was −224 ± 1256 µm2, ranging from −1410 µm2 (−36%) to +2592 µm2 (+48%). Ultrastructural observations showed myofibrillar and hydropic degeneration, and fiber necrosis. This study shows that ICU patients admitted with SARS-CoV-2 suffer from substantial muscle fiber damage during ICU admission. These results are a call for action towards more specialized rehabilitation programs for patients admitted to the ICU with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20763417
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 14
- Database :
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Journal :
- Applied Sciences
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- edsdoj.168feab7fccb4bed84d0de8e441ae391
- Document Type :
- article
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/app12147310