Respiratory Muscle Assesment in COVID-patients Without Hospitalization (RMA-COVID-19)

Potential Role of Diaphragmatic Muscle Weakness as a Cause of Persistent Exertional Dyspnea in Patients With COVID-19 Disease Without Hospitalization

Fatigue and exercise intolerance after survived COVID-19-infection might be related to weakness of the respiratory muscles. The aim of the project is to measure respiratory muscle function and strength in our respiratory physiology laboratory in patients who were not hospitalized during the acute COVID-19-infection but still complain of different persistent symptoms including exertional dyspnea and fatigue.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Covid19; Diaphragm Injury
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Comprehensive assessment of respiratory muscle function.

Detailed Description

Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, more and more recovered patients have a number of persistent symptoms including exertional dyspnea and fatigue even months after recovering from acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These symptoms often cannot be explained because routine clinical diagnoses, including extensive cardiac and pulmonary examinations, do not reveal any relevant abnormalities.

In our previous study (Regmi et al) with 50 patients formerly hospitalized due to acute COVID-19 infection, it was shown that diaphragm muscle weakness contributes to persistent exertional dyspnea about one year after hospitalization for COVID-19, regardless of mechanical ventilation. Additionally, the severity of exertional dyspnea correlated with the extent of diaphragmatic weakness.

Since laboratory findings, pulmonary function tests and cardiological routine examinations did not reveal any significant impairments, this was the first time that a potential pathophysiological correlate is objectively associated with dyspnea in long COVID-19 syndrome. The results of our study were clinically relevant because the persistent symptom burden in patients after surviving COVID-19 infection remains very high. In addition diaphragm training presents itself as a potential therapeutic target, since in other diseases such as COPD, such training has been shown to improve the symptoms. Therefore, the investigators believe that the results provide important perspectives, both for the pathophysiological understanding and for the potential treatment of persistent exertional dyspnea in patients.

However, a considerable gap exists here: a significant number of patients who suffer from an acute COVID-19 infection but do not have a severe course during the initial infection, so that hospitalization is not necessary, still complain of different persistent symptoms. Here, too, despite an extensive cardiopulmonary work-up, there is a lack of a sufficient explanation of the lasting complaints. It is precisely in these patients that a possible role of diaphragmatic weakness on the symptoms is yet to be investigated using already established gold standard techniques.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 25

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jens Spiesshoefer, MD; Phone Number: 37065 +4924180; Email: mdreher@ukaachen.de
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Michael Dreher, Professor; Phone Number: 88763 +4924180; Email: jspiesshoefe@ukaachen.de

Study Locations

• Germany
  • NRW
    • Aachen, NRW, Germany
      • Jens Spiesshoefer
      • Contact: Jens Spiesshoefer; Email: jspiesshoefe@ukaachen.de

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

A total of 25 patients will be enrolled. Patients from the outpatient clinic of Department of Pneumology and Intensive Care UKA Aachen with a COVID infection at least six months ago without the need for hospitalization during the initial infection phase. Those patients will be compared with healthy controls (availaible data from pre-covid era) matched in a 3:1 ratio for age, sex and body mass index (BMI).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with COVID-19 infection without hospitalization during the acute infection (n=25)
• Patients aged at least 18 years, who are mentally and physically able to consent and participate into the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Clinically pre-established cardiovascular disease or other pulmonary diseases which might lead to exertional dyspnea (systolic heart failure, COPD).
• Body-mass-index (BMI) >40
• Expected absence of active participation of the patient in study-related measurements
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Metal implant in the body that is not MRI compatible (NON MRI compatible pacemaker, implantable defibrillator, cervical implants, e.g. brain pacemakers etc.)
• Slipped disc
• Epilepsy
• Bound to a wheel chair

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Twitch transdiaphragmatic pressure in response to supramaximal magnetic stimulation of the phrenic nerve roots	Recording of twitch transdiaphragmatic pressure (Unit: Pressure in cmH2O)	1 year
Respiratory mouth pressures	Measurement of respiratory (inspiratory and expiratory) mouth pressures (Unit: Pressure in cmH2O)	1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Diaphragm ultrasound	Comprehensive evaluation of diaphragm excursion (amplitude during tidal breathing, sniff maneuver and maximal inspiration in cm, corresponding velocity in cm/sec, respectively) and thickening on ultrasound (thickness at functional residual capacity, at total lung capactiy in cm), Markers of Diaphragm excursion and thickening will be combined to classify diaphragm function as normal, mildly, moderately or severly impaired.	1 year
Exercise intolerance	Comprehensive evaluation of symptoms (breathlesness based on NYHA class, on a visual scale ranging from 1-10, respectively) and exercise capacity (6 minute walking distance). These measurements will be combined to classifiy patients as presenting with exercise intolerance or no exercise intolerance.	1 year
Lung function	Comprehensive assessment of lung function by bodyplethysmography (most importantly forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume after 1 second, intrathoracic gas volume, residual volume) and capillary blood gas analysis (most importantly pO2 in mmHG and pCO2 in mmHG). These measurements will be combined to classify patients as showing normal, restrictive, obstructive lung function impairment, as being hypoxic, hypercapnic, respectively.	1 year
EMG	Diaphragm and accessory respiratory muscle electromyography	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: RWTH Aachen University
• Investigators: Study Director: Michael Dreher, Professor, RWTH Aachen University; Principal Investigator: Jens Spiesshoefer, MD, RWTH Aachen University; Study Chair: Binaya Regmi, MD, RWTH Aachen University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Sudre CH, Murray B, Varsavsky T, Graham MS, Penfold RS, Bowyer RC, Pujol JC, Klaser K, Antonelli M, Canas LS, Molteni E, Modat M, Jorge Cardoso M, May A, Ganesh S, Davies R, Nguyen LH, Drew DA, Astley CM, Joshi AD, Merino J, Tsereteli N, Fall T, Gomez MF, Duncan EL, Menni C, Williams FMK, Franks PW, Chan AT, Wolf J, Ourselin S, Spector T, Steves CJ. Attributes and predictors of long COVID. Nat Med. 2021 Apr;27(4):626-631. doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01292-y. Epub 2021 Mar 10. Erratum In: Nat Med. 2021 Jun;27(6):1116.
• Spiesshoefer J, Herkenrath S, Henke C, Langenbruch L, Schneppe M, Randerath W, Young P, Brix T, Boentert M. Evaluation of Respiratory Muscle Strength and Diaphragm Ultrasound: Normative Values, Theoretical Considerations, and Practical Recommendations. Respiration. 2020;99(5):369-381. doi: 10.1159/000506016. Epub 2020 May 12.
• Langer D, Ciavaglia C, Faisal A, Webb KA, Neder JA, Gosselink R, Dacha S, Topalovic M, Ivanova A, O'Donnell DE. Inspiratory muscle training reduces diaphragm activation and dyspnea during exercise in COPD. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2018 Aug 1;125(2):381-392. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01078.2017. Epub 2018 Mar 15.
• Regmi B, Friedrich J, Jorn B, Senol M, Giannoni A, Boentert M, Daher A, Dreher M, Spiesshoefer J. Diaphragm Muscle Weakness Might Explain Exertional Dyspnea 15 Months after Hospitalization for COVID-19. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Apr 15;207(8):1012-1021. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202206-1243OC.
• Griffin L, Cafarelli E. Resistance training: cortical, spinal, and motor unit adaptations. Can J Appl Physiol. 2005 Jun;30(3):328-40. doi: 10.1139/h05-125.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): December 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 26, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 26, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): October 27, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 1, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 27, 2023
• Last Verified: October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Respiratory muscle functtion
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Lung Diseases; COVID-19
• Other Study ID Numbers: 23-296

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No