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Why COVID-19 survivors struggle to breathe: muscle damage revealed

NCT ID NCT04854863

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: RWTH Aachen University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This completed study looked at breathing muscle function in 50 people who were hospitalized for COVID-19. Half had been on a ventilator, half only needed extra oxygen. Researchers used advanced tests to measure diaphragm strength and movement. The goal was to understand why many survivors feel tired and short of breath, and to guide future rehabilitation programs.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

What this could lead to
If successful, this could show that dedicated breathing-muscle training helps COVID-19 survivors recover from fatigue and shortness of breath.
What could go wrong
This is a small, observational study with only 50 participants. It measures muscle function but does not test any treatment, so it cannot prove that rehabilitation works.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Participants

50 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Jun 2021

Finished

Nov 2024

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Who is studied

The aim of the present project is to comprehensively measure respiratory muscle function and strength in patients who survived a hospitalisation for a severe COVID-19-infection (25 with a severe course requiring mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit, 25 with a moderate-severe course requiring administration of supplemental oxygen only, respectively)

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * 50 patients with survived COVID-19-infection (25 with a severe course requiring mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit, 25 with a moderate-severe course requiring administration of supplemental oxygen only, respectively) * Patients aged at least 18 years, who are mentally and physically able to consent and participate into the study Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of another disease, which causes a permanent increase in carbon dioxide level in the blood (chronic hypercapnia) or a permanent combined lung weakness (particularly a neuromuscular disease) * Body-mass-index (BMI) \>40 * Expected absence of active participation of the patient in study-related measurements * Alcohol or drug abuse * Metal implant in the body that is not MRI compatible (NON MRI compatible pacemaker, implantable defibrillator, cervical implants, e.g. brain pacemakers etc.) * Slipped disc * Epilepsy * Bound to a wheel chair * Patients who are mentally and physically unable to consent and participate into the study * Patients in an interdependence or with an employment contract with the principal investigator, Co-PI or his deputy. * Emergency hospital stay in the last 4 weeks preceding the day of the measurements

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

COVID-19 injury

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

COVID19 Diaphragm injury

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Jens Spiesshoefer

    Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.