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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

Authors :
Sjoerd Stevens
Paul Hendrickx
Tim Snijders
Ivo Lambrichts
Björn Stessel
Jasperina Dubois
Luc J. C. van Loon
Frank Vandenabeele
Anouk Agten
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