Pulmonary Recovery 12 Months after Non-Severe and Severe COVID-19: The Prospective Swiss COVID-19 Lung Study

Background: Lung function impairment persists in some patients for months after acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Long-term lung function, radiological features, and their association remain to be clarified. Objectives: We aimed to prospectively investigate lung function and radiological abnormalities over 12 months after severe and non-severe COVID-19. Methods: 584 patients were included in the Swiss COVID-19 lung study. We assessed lung function at 3, 6, and 12 months after acute COVID-19 and compared chest computed tomography (CT) imaging to lung functional abnormalities. Results: At 12 months, diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCOcorr) was lower after severe COVID-19 compared to non-severe COVID-19 (74.9% vs. 85.2% predicted, p < 0.001). Similarly, minimal oxygen saturation on 6-min walk test and total lung capacity were lower after severe COVID-19 (89.6% vs. 92.2%, p = 0.004, respectively, 88.2% vs. 95.1% predicted, p = 0.011). The difference for forced vital capacity (91.6% vs. 96.3% predicted, p = 0.082) was not statistically significant. Between 3 and 12 months, lung function improved in both groups and differences in DLCO between non-severe and severe COVID-19 patients decreased. In patients with chest CT scans at 12 months, we observed a correlation between radiological abnormalities and reduced lung function. While the overall extent of radiological abnormalities diminished over time, the frequency of mosaic attenuation and curvilinear patterns increased. Conclusions: In this prospective cohort study, patients who had severe COVID-19 had diminished lung function over the first year compared to those after non-severe COVID-19, albeit with a greater extent of recovery in the severe disease group.

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• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Pulmonary Recovery 12 Months after Non-Severe and Severe COVID-19: The Prospective Swiss COVID-19 Lung Study ; volume:102 ; number:2 ; year:2023 ; pages:120-133 ; extent:14 ; Respiration ; 102, Heft 2 (2023), 120-133 (gesamt 14)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Lenoir, Alexandra ; Christe, Andreas ; Ebner, Lukas ; Beigelman-Aubry, Catherine ; Bridevaux, Pierre-Olivier ; Brutsche, Martin ; Clarenbach, Christian ; Erkosar, Berra ; Garzoni, Christian ; Geiser, Thomas ; Guler, Sabina ; Heg, Dik ; Lador, Frédéric ; Mancinetti, Marco ; Ott, Sebastian R. ; Piquilloud, Lise ; Prella, Maura ; Que, Yok-Ai ; von Garnier, Christophe ; Funke-Chambour, Manuela

Further information

• DOI: 10.1159/000528611
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2023021523155418820890
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.