Associação entre a infecção por Sars-Cov-2 e caquexia: uma revisão de literatura

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic was reported by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. In order to slow the spread of the virus among the population, several measures were taken, including social distancing, which posed challenges for maintaining the individuals' health. Still in 2022, COVID-19 reaches high numbers of new cases that can progress to a more severe degree and lead to the death of affected patients. The literature demonstrates that the evolution of COVID-19 to a more severe phase may be related to factors such as physical inactivity, presence of comorbidities, socioeconomic conditions, nutritional status, lifestyle, genetics and body composition (WC). The latter was investigated through several observational studies that reported associations between low muscularity and disease severity. Due to its inflammatory nature, the acute phase of COVID-19 can lead to decreased muscle mass in critically ill patients due to increased protein breakdown and synthesis, use of sedative drugs, and patient immobilization. Objective: To review in the literature the possible associations between symptoms of COVID-19 and CC in hospitalized adult and elderly patients. Methodology: Primary studies with COVID-19 patients over 18 years of age who reported symptoms of COVID-19 potentially related to weight loss and cachexia were included. PubMed, Cochrane Library, LILACS, and Google Scholar databases were used. Results: Nine studies with observational designs were included in the narrative review. Symptoms potentially related to weight loss were identified. Conclusion: The analyzed studies demonstrate symptoms of COVID-19 that are potentially related to cachexia. However, more robust studies that assess the change in body composition using appropriate methods are needed to investigate the association between disease severity and cachexia in patients.