Musculoskeletal symptoms in SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) patients
Lucio Cipollaro, Lorenzo Giordano, Johnny Padulo, Francesco Oliva, Nicola Maffulli
Abstract
The novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) became a pandemic on 11 March 2020. The epidemiological picture is constantly evolving, and on 13 May, 4,170,424 cases and 287,399 confirmed deaths have been reported (WHO Report). People with COVID-19 infection may show several symptoms, including fever, cough, nausea, vomiting, dyspnea, myalgia, fatigue, arthralgia, headache, diarrhea, and rarely arthritis COVID-19 clinical features range from asymptomatic patients to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiple organ dysfunction Influenza symptoms are associated with a cascade of inflammatory mediators. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) levels in plasma and upper respiratory secretions directly correlate with the magnitude of viral replication, fever, and respiratory and systemic symptoms, including musculoskeletal clinical manifestations We collected the published clinical data of the past 5 months to ascertain the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and epidemiological characteristics published worldwide in COVID-19 patients.