Assessing post-COVID-19 functional recovery in healthcare workers: Insights from the 6-minute walking test and DLCO analysis
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide, necessitating an understanding of its effects on their health and functional capacity. This study utilized the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and pulmonary function test (PFT) to evaluate post-infection recovery of HCWs...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Infection and Public Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034125000139 |
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| author | Salma AlBahrani Ali AlBarrak Jaber S. Alqahtani Nawal AlGubaisi Hamoud Alkurdi Dalia Alburaiki Abdulrahaman AlGhamdi Mohammed AlOthaiqy Osama Faqihi Meshael Musaed Almershad Fatimah Hassan Hakami Asmaa AlAbbadi Mariam Hassan Hakami Alaa AlMaimouni Zechariah Jebakumar Arulanantham Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq |
| author_facet | Salma AlBahrani Ali AlBarrak Jaber S. Alqahtani Nawal AlGubaisi Hamoud Alkurdi Dalia Alburaiki Abdulrahaman AlGhamdi Mohammed AlOthaiqy Osama Faqihi Meshael Musaed Almershad Fatimah Hassan Hakami Asmaa AlAbbadi Mariam Hassan Hakami Alaa AlMaimouni Zechariah Jebakumar Arulanantham Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq |
| author_sort | Salma AlBahrani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide, necessitating an understanding of its effects on their health and functional capacity. This study utilized the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and pulmonary function test (PFT) to evaluate post-infection recovery of HCWs, and analyzed the results in relation to comorbidities, symptoms, and healthcare admission. Methods: HCWs who previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were recruited, and the 6MWT and PFT were conducted. Clinical data, including comorbidities, symptoms, hospitalization history, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mechanical ventilation, were collected. Binary logistic regression analysis and Fisher's exact test were employed to examine the associations between these factors and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and the 6MWT. Results: The study comprised 80 HCWs, with various comorbidities and various presenting symptoms. On average, 167.24 days (± 63.83 days) post-SARS-CoV-2 infection, 34 (42.5 %) had a DLCO% < 80 % of the predicted value, while 46 (57.5 %) had a DLCO% of ≥ 80 %. The mean six-minute-walk distance (6MWD) was 400.6 ± 54.1 m. No significant associations were found between DLCO% and most of the factors examined, except for Forced Expiratory Flow 25–75 % (FEF25–75 %), although this was not statistically significant (P=0.069). Conclusion: The study provides significant data regarding the functional recovery of HCWs who have recovered from COVID-19 using the 6MWT. Importantly, the findings demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 infection did not substantially impair the pulmonary functional capacity of HCWs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-102d653eb3da4624a5da9cdf158577f3 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1876-0341 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Infection and Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-102d653eb3da4624a5da9cdf158577f32025-08-20T02:14:56ZengElsevierJournal of Infection and Public Health1876-03412025-03-0118310266410.1016/j.jiph.2025.102664Assessing post-COVID-19 functional recovery in healthcare workers: Insights from the 6-minute walking test and DLCO analysisSalma AlBahrani0Ali AlBarrak1Jaber S. Alqahtani2Nawal AlGubaisi3Hamoud Alkurdi4Dalia Alburaiki5Abdulrahaman AlGhamdi6Mohammed AlOthaiqy7Osama Faqihi8Meshael Musaed Almershad9Fatimah Hassan Hakami10Asmaa AlAbbadi11Mariam Hassan Hakami12Alaa AlMaimouni13Zechariah Jebakumar Arulanantham14Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq15Infectious Disease Unit, Specialty Internal Medicine, King Fahd Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, College of medicine-Imam Abdulrahaman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi ArabiaInfectious disease division, Internal Medicine Department, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Respiratory Care, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, Saudi ArabiaInternal Medicine Department, King Fahd Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaRespiratory therapy department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaRespiratory therapy department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaRespiratory therapy department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaRespiratory therapy department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaRespiratory therapy department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaInfection Control Department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaInfection Control Department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaInfection Control Department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaNursing Department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaRadiology Department, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaVice deanship of postgraduate studies and Scientific Research, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaInfectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Infectious Disease Unit, Specialty Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Infectious Disease Division, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Correspondence to: Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia.Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide, necessitating an understanding of its effects on their health and functional capacity. This study utilized the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and pulmonary function test (PFT) to evaluate post-infection recovery of HCWs, and analyzed the results in relation to comorbidities, symptoms, and healthcare admission. Methods: HCWs who previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were recruited, and the 6MWT and PFT were conducted. Clinical data, including comorbidities, symptoms, hospitalization history, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mechanical ventilation, were collected. Binary logistic regression analysis and Fisher's exact test were employed to examine the associations between these factors and diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and the 6MWT. Results: The study comprised 80 HCWs, with various comorbidities and various presenting symptoms. On average, 167.24 days (± 63.83 days) post-SARS-CoV-2 infection, 34 (42.5 %) had a DLCO% < 80 % of the predicted value, while 46 (57.5 %) had a DLCO% of ≥ 80 %. The mean six-minute-walk distance (6MWD) was 400.6 ± 54.1 m. No significant associations were found between DLCO% and most of the factors examined, except for Forced Expiratory Flow 25–75 % (FEF25–75 %), although this was not statistically significant (P=0.069). Conclusion: The study provides significant data regarding the functional recovery of HCWs who have recovered from COVID-19 using the 6MWT. Importantly, the findings demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 infection did not substantially impair the pulmonary functional capacity of HCWs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S18760341250001396-minute walk testHealthcare workersCOVID-19Functional capacityPost-infection recovery |
| spellingShingle | Salma AlBahrani Ali AlBarrak Jaber S. Alqahtani Nawal AlGubaisi Hamoud Alkurdi Dalia Alburaiki Abdulrahaman AlGhamdi Mohammed AlOthaiqy Osama Faqihi Meshael Musaed Almershad Fatimah Hassan Hakami Asmaa AlAbbadi Mariam Hassan Hakami Alaa AlMaimouni Zechariah Jebakumar Arulanantham Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq Assessing post-COVID-19 functional recovery in healthcare workers: Insights from the 6-minute walking test and DLCO analysis Journal of Infection and Public Health 6-minute walk test Healthcare workers COVID-19 Functional capacity Post-infection recovery |
| title | Assessing post-COVID-19 functional recovery in healthcare workers: Insights from the 6-minute walking test and DLCO analysis |
| title_full | Assessing post-COVID-19 functional recovery in healthcare workers: Insights from the 6-minute walking test and DLCO analysis |
| title_fullStr | Assessing post-COVID-19 functional recovery in healthcare workers: Insights from the 6-minute walking test and DLCO analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing post-COVID-19 functional recovery in healthcare workers: Insights from the 6-minute walking test and DLCO analysis |
| title_short | Assessing post-COVID-19 functional recovery in healthcare workers: Insights from the 6-minute walking test and DLCO analysis |
| title_sort | assessing post covid 19 functional recovery in healthcare workers insights from the 6 minute walking test and dlco analysis |
| topic | 6-minute walk test Healthcare workers COVID-19 Functional capacity Post-infection recovery |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034125000139 |
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