Pulmonary function and exercise capacity six months after hospital discharge of patients with severe COVID-19

• Published in: The Brazilian journal of infectious diseases Vol. 27; no. 4; p. 102789
• Main Authors: Polese, Jessica, Ramos, Alessandro Demoner, Moulaz, Isac Ribeiro, Sant'Ana, Larissa, Lacerda, Bárbara Sthefany de Paula, Soares, Cinthia Eduarda Santos, Lança, Karen Evelin Monlevade, Thompson, Beatriz Paoli, Júnior, Germano Paulo Barbosa, Polese Pinto, Isabella Izaita, Mill, José Geraldo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Elsevier España, S.L.U 01.07.2023; Contexto; Elsevier; Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: Brazil; COVID-19; Evaluation; INFECTIOUS DISEASES; Mortality; Original; Pulmonary function test; Pulmonary function tests; SARS-COV-2; Symptoms; Brazil; COVID-19; Pulmonary function test; SARS-COV-2; Symptoms
• ISSN: 1413-8670; 1678-4391; 1678-4391
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bjid.2023.102789

The long-term consequences of COVID-19, especially pulmonary impairment, are frequent but not well understood. The knowledge about sequels or long COVID-19 are necessary, considering the high prevalence and need for specific public strategies. The study was conducted to evaluate symptoms (standardized questionnaire), pulmonary function (spirometry), and exercise capacity (6-minute-walk-test) at 30 (D30), 90 (D90), and 180 (D180) days after hospital discharge of patients surviving to severe COVID-19. We excluded in this follow up patients with comorbidities before COVID infection. 44 patients were included and 31 (26 men) completed the 6-month follow-up (age mean 53.6 ± 9.6 years). At D180, 28% presented still at least one symptom. The most common was dyspnea (17.2%), followed by cough (13.8%), and myalgia (10.3%). All spirometric parameters showed progressive improvement from D30 to D180. However, 16% maintained a restrictive pattern on spirometry test, 44% presented desaturation on the 6-minute walk-test, and 25% walked < 75% of the predicted value. 6-months after hospital discharge, reduced pulmonary function and reduced exercise capacity was founded frequently and more than a quarter remained symptomatic. The persistent symptoms and functional impairment suggest that sequels and development of Long COVID-19 are very common. The identification of these patients to provide the necessary health care is a challenging task, considering the large number of patients infected and surviving to COVID-19 disease.