Evidence mapPaperPMID 40684361Full record

ArticleExperimental physiology2026

Persistence of fatigue in the absence of pathophysiological mechanisms in some patients more than 2 years after the original SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Giovanni Baldassarre, Lucrezia Zuccarelli, Thomas Favaretto, Caterina Ursella, Andrea Palomba, Paulo Cesar do Nascimento Salvador, Emanuela Sozio, Ernesto Crisafulli, Massimo Imazio, Carlo Tascini and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental physiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Giovanni BaldassarreDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4182-9216
Lucrezia ZuccarelliDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
Thomas FavarettoDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
Caterina UrsellaDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4645-1242
Andrea PalombaDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
Paulo Cesar do Nascimento SalvadorDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
Emanuela SozioDivision of Infectious Diseases, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale (ASUFC), Udine, Italy.
Ernesto CrisafulliDepartment of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Massimo ImazioDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
Carlo TasciniDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
Bruno GrassiDepartment of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3188-1659

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Following an acute infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a substantial percentage of patients report the persistence of debilitating symptoms, often grouped in a syndrome termed 'long COVID'. We sought to identify potential pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for the persistence, in some long COVID patients, of symptoms related to fatigue/exercise intolerance (excessive or early fatigue, excessive or early dyspnoea, muscle weakness, and myalgias) more than 2 years after the original infection. Twelve patients who reported persistent symptoms (Long COVID group; 57 ± 6 years, mean ± SD), and 14 patients without the symptoms (Control group; 57 ± 8 years) were evaluated. An extensive series of measurements were performed to identify pathophysiological mechanisms potentially responsible for the symptoms. In long COVID patients, all items evaluating quality of life (SF-36 questionnaire) had lower scores (P < 0.01) compared to control. The habitual level of physical activity, muscle size and strength, maximal aerobic power and the ventilatory thresholds, peak cardiac function, the mechanical efficiency of cycling, pulmonary

Indexed as

FatiguePost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeAgedExercise ToleranceFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMuscle, SkeletalQuality of LifeSurveys and Questionnairesexercise intoleranceexercise ventilatory inefficiencylong COVIDoxidative metabolism

Identifiers

PMID40684361
PMCPMC12949092

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.