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Background: No comprehensive analysis of the pulmonary sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan based on respiratory function tests and chest computed tomography (CT) has been reported. We evaluated post-COVID-19 conditions, especially focusing on pulmonary sequelae assessed by pulmonary function tests and chest CT., Methods: For this prospective cohort study, we enrolled 1069 patients who presented pneumonia at the time of admission in 55 hospitals from February 2020 to September 2021. Disease severity was classified as moderateⅠ, moderate II, and severe, defined primarily according to the degree of respiratory failure. The data on post-COVID-19 conditions over 12 months, pulmonary function, and chest CT findings at 3 months were evaluated in this study. Additionally, the impact of COVID-19 severity on pulmonary sequelae, such as impaired diffusion capacity, restrictive pattern, and CT abnormalities, was also evaluated., Results: The most frequently reported post-COVID-19 conditions at 3 months after COVID-19 were muscle weakness, dyspnea, and fatigue (48.4%, 29.0%, and 24.7%, respectively). The frequency of symptoms gradually decreased over subsequent months. In pulmonary function tests at 3 months, the incidence of impaired diffusion capacity and restrictive pattern increased depending on disease severity. There also were differences in the presence of chest CT abnormalities at the 3 months, which was markedly correlated with the severity., Conclusion: We reported a comprehensive analysis of post-COVID-19 condition, pulmonary function, and chest CT abnormalities in Japanese patients with COVID-19. The findings of this study will serve as valuable reference data for future post-COVID-19 condition research in Japan., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: The prevalence of respiratory sarcopenia and its effect on respiratory muscle strength (RMS) in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), who are transferred to a convalescent rehabilitation hospital after acute care and require continuous cardiac rehabilitation (CR), is currently unclear. This study aimed to assess changes in RMS, physical function, and activities of daily living (ADL) before and after CR performed in a rehabilitation hospital., Methods: Of 50 consecutive patients transferred to a rehabilitation hospital for ongoing CR, 30 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures (MIP and MEP, respectively) were measured at transfer, and patients with decreased RMS were diagnosed with respiratory sarcopenia. RMS, physical function, exercise tolerance, ADL ability, and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) were measured and compared at transfer and discharge., Results: The prevalence of respiratory sarcopenia at the time of transfer to the rehabilitation hospital was 93.3%. RMS assessments at transfer and discharge demonstrated significant improvements in %MIP (from 46.3±26.1% to 63.6±33.7%) and %MEP (from 44.8±17.3% to 56.6±21.8%). Short physical performance battery, gait speed, handgrip strength, and knee extension muscle strength significantly improved, along with significant prolongation of 6-min walking distance as a measure of exercise tolerance. ADL assessment using the functional independence measure revealed significant improvement, as did HR-QoL assessed according to the five-dimension, five-level, EuroQoL instrument, following CR., Conclusions: Although respiratory sarcopenia was highly prevalent among patients with CVD who required transfer to a rehabilitation hospital after acute care, continuous CR significantly improved RMS, ADL, physical function, and exercise tolerance. These findings support the continued expansion of CR, particularly in dedicated rehabilitation hospitals., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest with this manuscript., (Copyright 2024, Matsuo et al.)