Impact of COVID-19 pneumonia on pulmonary function, radiographic imaging and quality of life in a cohort of survivors

Background and Methods: To determine the extent and severity of complications of COVID-19, a single-center retrospective study was conducted on a cohort of 18 survivors who had chest CT scan upon admission and 10-12 weeks upon discharge. It included the measurement of pulmonary functions tests and a health status evaluation using SGRQ were done simultaneously during follow up.Results: Study has shown that they remained symptomatic with significant radiographic (pulmonary fibrosis) and alterations in lung functions, with mainly restrictive pattern (decrease DLCO and TLC) in severe illness group, still existed in a proportion of COVID-19 patients 3 months after discharge. There was a negative correlation between pulmonary function test and SGRQ as well as CT scores while a positive correlation between the CT scores and SGRQ scores. Table 1.Pulmonary function test at 10-12 weeks after discharge.Moderate (N=12)Severe (N=6)MeanNo. of Patients with <80% Predicted (%Freq)MeanNo. of Patients with <80% Predicted (%Freq)p value (Mean)p value (Frequency)FEV1982 (17)981 (17)0.981FVC951 (8)871 (17)0.210.596TLC971 (8)833 (50)0.170.045DLCO883 (25)714 (67)0.070.009Figure 1. Scatter plot analysis for SGRQ (A-D) and CT score (E-H) with pulmonary function tests 10-12 weeks after discharge.Measurements and Main Results: Longer follow-up should be done in the severe illness group.
Source: European Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Clinical respiratory physiology, exercise and functional imaging Source Type: research