Lung abnormalities found in long COVID patients with breathlessness, NIHR

Researchers have identified abnormalities in the lungs of long COVID patients with breathlessness but whose other tests are normal. The EXPLAIN study is using hyperpolarised xenon MRI scans to investigate possible lung damage in long COVID patients who experience breathlessness and were not hospitalised when they had COVID-19. These early results suggest that COVID-19 may result in persistent impairment in gas transfer and underlying lung abnormalities. However, the extent to which these abnormalities contribute to breathlessness is currently unclear. Hyperpolarised xenon MRI requires the patient to lie in an MRI scanner and breathe in one litre of xenon gas that has had its atomic structure altered so it can be seen using MRI. Xenon is an inert gas that behaves in a very similar way to oxygen, so radiologists then can observe how the gas moves from the lungs into the bloodstream.
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news