One year later, 40% of patients with COVID pneumonia still had lung problems Pneumonia Coronavirus Disease COVID longCOVID RespiratoryBMC
Study: Lung function and radiological findings 1 year after COVID-19: a prospective follow-up. Image Credit: People Image Studio / Shutterstock
Evidence suggests that patients on mechanical ventilation during the acute phase of COVID-19 sustain more alterations in their pneumocytes, pulmonary endothelial and alveolar cells, as well as interstitial and pulmonary fibrotic changes compared to those on conventional oxygen. One-fourth of the patients who developed pneumonia suffered from sub-pleural cystic/reticular lesions, and one-third of the patients had fibrotic changes following one year and six months post-discharge, respectively.
Results of the study The mean age of the participants was 60.5 years, and the majority were males. Notably, males showed a greater preponderance of more severe disease. In addition, the duration of hospital stay, the laboratory parameters , and RALE scores varied between the study groups . Whereas there were no significant differences amongst the study groups concerning patients' demographics, such as – body mass index , age, smoking, and comorbidities.
Throughout the cohort, a restricted abnormality was seen in 14.3% of patients at two months, 9.3% at six months, and 6.7% at 12 months. The mean forced vital capacity was 99 at V1, 100.8 at V2, and 104.2 at V3. Meanwhile, no significant differences were found in FVC relative to time and severity. Computed tomography was advised two months post-discharge in patients with abnormal chest X-rays, abnormal pulmonary function test results, and persistent dyspnea. HRCT was performed after two months on 325 patients. Among these, 38.4% revealed complete resolution, while the remaining exhibited ground glass opacities . Notably, GGO was the most common and showed differences based on age groups.