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. 2022 Aug;17(5):1491-1501.
doi: 10.1007/s11739-022-02950-w. Epub 2022 Mar 2.

Residual symptoms, lung function, and imaging findings in patients recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection

Fares Darawshy  1   2 , Ayman Abu Rmeileh  3   4 , Rottem Kuint  3   4 , Dan Padawer  3   4 , Khalil Karim  3   4 , Zvi Fridlender  3   4 , Uri Laxer  3   4 , Polina Goychman Cohen  3   4 , Neville Berkman  3   4
Affiliations

Residual symptoms, lung function, and imaging findings in patients recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection

Fares Darawshy et al. Intern Emerg Med. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Symptoms following acute COVID-19 infection are common, but their relationship to initial COVID-19 severity is unclear. We hypothesize that residual symptoms are related to disease severity, and severe acute COVID-19 infection is more likely to cause residual pulmonary damage. This study aims to evaluate symptoms, lung function, and abnormal imaging within 3 months following COVID-19 infection, and to determine whether they are related to initial disease severity. A cross-sectional study was carried out at a designated post-COVID clinic in Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. Patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were evaluated within 12 weeks following infection and included both admitted and non-admitted subjects. All study participants underwent assessment of symptoms, quality of life (SGRQ), pulmonary function tests, and imaging. A total of 208 patients (age 49.3 ± 16 years) were included in the study. Initial disease severity was mild in 86, moderate in 49, and severe in 73 patients. At the time of follow-up, there were no differences in frequency of residual symptoms or in SGRQ score between groups. Patients with severe COVID-19 were more likely to have residual dyspnea (p = 0.04), lower oxygen saturation (p < 0.01), lower FVC and TLC (p < 0.001, p = 0.03 respectively), abnormal CXR (p < 0.01), and abnormal CT scan (p < 0.01) compared to other groups.Frequency of symptoms and impairment of quality of life at 12 week follow-up are common and are not related to severity of initial COVID-19 disease. In contrast, reduced lung function and abnormal pulmonary imaging are more common in patients with more severe acute COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dyspnea; FVC; Post-COVID; Pulmonary function.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a: Residual symptoms frequency comparison between patients according to initial diseases severity: mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. *p < 0.05; b: pulmonary function tests parameters on follow-up according to initial diseases severity: mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a: Residual symptoms frequency comparison between inpatients and outpatients. *p < 0.05; b: pulmonary function tests parameters on follow-up compared between inpatients and outpatients. *p < 0.05
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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