The relevance of pacing strategies in managing symptoms of post-COVID-19 syndrome

Alaa Ghali; Valentin Lacombe; Camille Ravaiau; Estelle Delattre; Maria Ghali; Geoffrey Urbanski; Christian Lavigne

doi:10.1186/s12967-023-04229-w

The relevance of pacing strategies in managing symptoms of post-COVID-19 syndrome

J Transl Med. 2023 Jun 8;21(1):375. doi: 10.1186/s12967-023-04229-w.

Authors

Alaa Ghali¹, Valentin Lacombe², Camille Ravaiau², Estelle Delattre², Maria Ghali³, Geoffrey Urbanski², Christian Lavigne²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology, Angers University Hospital, 4 Rue Larrey, 49000, Angers, France. alghali@chu-angers.fr.
² Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology, Angers University Hospital, 4 Rue Larrey, 49000, Angers, France.
³ Department of General Medicine, Faculty of Medicine of Angers, Angers, France.

Abstract

Background: Post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) shares many features with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). PCS represents a major health issue worldwide because it severely impacts patients' work activities and their quality of life. In the absence of treatment for both conditions and given the beneficial effect of pacing strategies in ME/CFS, we conducted this study to assess the effectiveness of pacing in PCS patients.

Methods: We retrospectively included patients meeting the World Health Organization definition of PCS who attended the Internal Medicine Department of Angers University Hospital, France between June 2020 and June 2022, and were followed up until December 2022. Pacing strategies were systematically proposed for all patients. Their medical records were reviewed and data related to baseline and follow-up assessments were collected. This included epidemiological characteristics, COVID-19 symptoms and associated conditions, fatigue features, perceived health status, employment activity, and the degree of pacing adherence assessed by the engagement in pacing subscale (EPS). Recovery was defined as the ability to return to work, and improvement was regarded as the reduction of the number and severity of symptoms.

Results: A total of 86 patients were included and followed-up for a median time of 10 [6-13] months. Recovery and improvement rates were 33.7% and 23.3%, respectively. The EPS score was the only variable significantly associated with recovery on multivariate analysis (OR 40.43 [95% CI 6.22-262.6], p < 0.001). Patients who better adhered to pacing (high EPS scores) experienced significantly higher recovery and improvement rates (60-33.3% respectively) than those with low (5.5-5.5% respectively), or moderate (4.3-17.4% respectively) scores.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that pacing is effective in the management of patients with PCS, and that high levels of adherence to pacing are associated with better outcomes.

Keywords: Adherence; Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome; Outcomes; Pacing strategies; Post-COVID syndrome.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic* / therapy
Humans
Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
Quality of Life
Retrospective Studies