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Editorial
Persistent symptoms in athletes following COVID-19: time to take a breath in the search for answers?
  1. James H Hull1,2
  1. 1 Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK
  2. 2 Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, University College London, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr James H Hull, Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; j.hull{at}rbht.nhs.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-105889

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    In the context of treating an athlete with COVID-19, the sports and exercise medicine (SEM) clinician is typically faced with three main challenges—risk, restriction and recovery—or the ‘3Rs’. First, a need to characterise the clinical ‘risk’ of the acute illness and to detect any serious pathology, such as cardiac illness. Second, the inter-related issue of how exercise and sports participation should be modified and if temporary ‘restriction’ in some way is needed. Third, how best to monitor and optimise ‘recovery’ and most importantly what do if an athlete has persistent symptoms.

    Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BJSM has published numerous papers providing robust evidence to support SEM decision-making in each of these areas. These include but are not limited to papers describing the risk of cardiac illness and injury, clinical features of prolonged recovery and decision algorithms when managing return-to-play.1–4

    Cardiopulmonary exercise testing for persistent symptoms?

    A welcome addition to the published body of work is the paper by Moulson and colleagues,5 providing novel insight regarding …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors JHH is the sole author.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.