PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Irfan Ahmed
TI  - COVID-19 – does exercise prescription and maximal oxygen uptake (VO<sub>2</sub> max) have a role in risk-stratifying patients?
AID  - 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0111
DP  - 2020 May 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 282--284
VI  - 20
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/20/3/282.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/20/3/282.full
SO  - Clin Med2020 May 01; 20
AB  - As the UK shields ‘high risk’ patients and enforces social distancing measures, patients will be at risk of significantly reducing physical activity levels. We explore the evidence base for COVID-19-specific recommendations and exercise interventions to ‘precondition’ patients prior to infection and appraise the role of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) as a risk-stratifying triage tool. We conclude that structured exercise programmes can be used to maintain physical activity levels and prevent deconditioning and that VO2 max has the potential to be used as a clinically relevant triage tool during the COVID-19 outbreak.