Serial transverse CT scans in a 65-year-old man with severe COVID-19.

February 15, 2023 — Chest CT revealed persistent lung abnormalities in patients two years after COVID-19, according to a study published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). This is the first research paper with two-year follow-up data on COVID-19 lung effects.

Globally, more than 600 million people have recovered from COVID-19, but concerns remain that some organs, especially the lungs, may suffer long-term damage after infection.

Qing Ye, M.D., and Heshui Shi, M.D., Ph.D., from Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, and colleagues set out to assess residual lung abnormalities in patients up to two years post-COVID-19 pneumonia. They also looked at the correlation between residual lung abnormalities and changes in lung function.

In this prospective study, 144 patients (79 men and 65 women, median age 60) discharged from the hospital after SARSCoV-2 infection between January 15 and March 10, 2020, were included. Three serial chest CT scans and pulmonary function tests were obtained at six months, 12 months and two years after symptom onset.

Residual lung abnormalities after discharge from the hospital included fibrosis (scarring), thickening, honeycombing, cystic changes, dilation of the bronchi, and more.

Over two years, the incidence of lung abnormalities gradually decreased. At six months, 54% of patients showed lung abnormalities. On two-year follow-up CT scans, 39% (56/144) of the patients had lung abnormalities, including 23% (33/144) with fibrotic lung abnormalities and 16% (23/144) with non-fibrotic lung abnormalities.

“In particular, the proportion of fibrotic interstitial lung abnormalities, an important precursor to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, remained stable throughout follow-up,” the authors said. “Therefore, the fibrotic abnormalities observed in our study might represent a stable, irreversible pulmonary condition, such as lung fibrosis, after COVID-19.”

The remaining 88 cases (61%) showed no abnormalities.

Patients with lung abnormalities on CT were more likely to have respiratory symptoms and abnormal lung function. The proportion of individuals with respiratory symptoms decreased from 30% at six months to 22% at two years.

At two-year follow-up, the most common respiratory symptom was exertional dyspnea or shortness of breath (14% [20/144]), while mild and moderate pulmonary diffusion—which refers to how well the air sacs in the lungs are delivering oxygen to and removing carbon dioxide from the blood in the tiny blood vessels that surround them—were observed in 29% (38/129) of patients. Pulmonary diffusion was regarded as abnormal when diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide was less than 75% of the predicted value. The researchers suggest that persisting residual symptoms and abnormal lung function could be related to the patient’s ongoing lung damage.

“Long-term and functional consequences of chest CT findings post-COVID-19 are largely unknown,” the authors said. “Our prospective study found that 39% of participants had persistent interstitial lung abnormalities at two-year follow-up, which were associated with respiratory symptoms and decreased diffusion function.”

The authors advise that patients with residual lung abnormalities or respiratory symptoms after COVID-19 should be followed up to detect and manage pulmonary changes and functional impairment.

For more information: www.rsna.org

 

Related COVID-19 Coverage:  

New X-ray Technology Can Improve COVID-19 Diagnosis 

Long COVID Syndrome in Children and Teens  

Long COVID Implications: Increased Health Care Use After Infection With SARS-Cov-2  

Lasting Lung Damage Seen in Children and Teens after COVID   

PHOTO GALLERY: How COVID-19 Appears on Medical Imaging    

COVID-19 Fallout May Lead to More Cancer Deaths     

Kawasaki-like Inflammatory Disease Affects Children With COVID-19     

FDA Adds Myocarditis Warning to COVID mRNA Vaccine Clinician Fact Sheets     

CMS Now Requires COVID-19 Vaccinations for Healthcare Workers by January 4     

Cardiac MRI of Myocarditis After COVID-19 Vaccination in Adolescents     

Small Number of Patients Have Myocarditis-like Illness After COVID-19 Vaccination     

Overview of Myocarditis Cases Caused by the COVID-19 Vaccine     

Case Study Describes One of the First U.S. Cases of MIS-C     

NIH-funded Project Wants to Identify Children at Risk for MIS-C From COVID-19   


Related Content

News | Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

September 28, 2023 — Siemens Healthineers has announced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance of the Magnetom ...

Time September 28, 2023
arrow
News | Lung Imaging

September 26, 2023 — In a study of more than 2,000 chest X-rays, radiologists outperformed AI in accurately identifying ...

Time September 26, 2023
arrow
News | Cardiac Imaging

September 21, 2023 — Declines in cardiovascular procedure volumes observed early in the COVID-19 pandemic greatly ...

Time September 21, 2023
arrow
News | Artificial Intelligence

September 20, 2023 — Medical imaging artificial intelligence (AI) company Annalise.ai has announced that the results ...

Time September 20, 2023
arrow
Sponsored Content | Case Study | Radiology Imaging | By Tim Hodson

In June, the Philips Radiology Experience Tour hit the road to provide healthcare professionals with an opportunity to ...

Time September 19, 2023
arrow
News | Computed Tomography (CT)

September 19, 2023 — An advanced CT test can identify individuals with stable angina at a reduced risk of three-year ...

Time September 19, 2023
arrow
News | SNMMI

September 18, 2023 — The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), as a professional society ...

Time September 18, 2023
arrow
News | Artificial Intelligence

September 18, 2023 — According to an accepted manuscript published in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), an ...

Time September 18, 2023
arrow
News | Mobile C-Arms

September 14, 2023 — Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, today announced the launch of Philips Image ...

Time September 14, 2023
arrow
News | FDA

September 13, 2023 — Annalise.ai, a leader in AI-powered medical imaging solutions, announced the receipt of 510(k) ...

Time September 13, 2023
arrow
Subscribe Now