Deconditioning as main mechanism of impaired exercise response in COVID-19 survivors

SARS-CoV2 and the related Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) hit Europe in February 2020 [1], raising issues on acute phase management and, later on, the management of its long-term sequelae. Cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), which is the gold standard for the evaluation of exercise capacity, is included in the list of examinations of the European Respiratory Society (ERS)/American Thoracic Society (ATS) task force for the follow-up of COVID-19 patients [2]. However, it is not performed in every clinical center, requiring specific technical skills. The objective of this observational, prospective study was to evaluate the sequelae of COVID-19 assessing the exercise performance during incremental CPET.