Follow-up pulmonary function of COVID-19 patients 4 months after hospital discharge

The end of the acute period of COVID-19 does not mean complete recovery. Observation of patients in the post-COVID-19 period showed that a significant number of people experience shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle weakness, sleep disorders, cough, palpitations, so the term post-COVID-19 syndrome was coined. The examination to identify the causes of complaints of COVID-19 convalescents should include lung function assessment.The aim of the study was to assess the dynamics of lung function 4 months after hospitalization for COVID-19.Methods. 31 patients (26 males, the median age was 49 years) underwent traditional pulmonary function tests (PFTs) (spirometry, body plethysmography, test of diffusing lung capacity) and impulse oscillometry (IOS). Results. During the 1st visit, the average PFTs and IOS parameters were within the normal range in the whole group, apart from the diffusing lung capacity (DLCO), which was reduced mildly (on the border with moderate) in 77% of patients. During the 2nd visit, which was conducted on average 102 days after the 1st one, 58% of patients demonstrated abnormal lung diffusion capacity. The second assessment revealed a statistically significant increase in the slow and forced vital capacity (VC and FVC), the forced exhalation volume in 1 second (FEV1), total lung capacity (TLC), DLCO, and a decrease in the ratio of FEV1/FVC and the residual lung volume to TLC ratio.Conclusion. Post-COVID-19 patients show a statistically significant improvement of their lung function 4 months after hospital discharge. A systematic follow-up is essential for such patients to detect lung function abnormalities and correct them.

Respiratory Outcomes in Patients Following COVID-19-Related Hospitalization: A Meta-Analysis

Background: To determine the respiratory outcomes in patients following COVID-19-related hospitalization.Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.Results: Forced vital capacity (FVC, % of predicted): 0–3 months post discharge: 96.1, 95% CI [82.1–110.0]; 3–6 months post discharge: 99.9, 95% CI [84.8, 115.0]; >6 months post discharge: 97.4, 95% CI [76.8–118.0]. Diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO, % of predicted): 0–3 months post discharge: 83.9, 95% CI [68.9–98.9]; 3–6 months post discharge: 91.2, 95% CI [74.8–107.7]; >6 months post discharge: 97.3, 95% CI [76.7–117.9]. Percentage of patients with FVC less than 80% of predicted: 0–3 months post discharge: 10%, 95% CI [6–14%]; 3–6 months post discharge: 10%, 95% CI [2–18%]; >6 months post discharge: 13%, 95% CI [8–18%]. Percentage of patients with DLCO less than 80% of predicted: 0–3 months post discharge: 48%, 95% CI [41–56%]; 3–6 months post discharge: 33%, 95% CI [23–44%]; >6 months post discharge: 43%, 95% CI [22–65%].Conclusion: The meta-analysis confirms a high prevalence of persistent lung diffusion impairment in patients following COVID-19-related hospitalization. Routine respiratory follow-up is thus strongly recommended.

Comparison of Residual Pulmonary Abnormalities 3 Months After Discharge in Patients Who Recovered From COVID-19 of Different Severity

Background and Objectives: To investigate whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivors who had different disease severities have different levels of pulmonary sequelae at 3 months post-discharge.Methods: COVID-19 patients discharged from four hospitals 3 months previously, recovered asymptomatic patients from an isolation hotel, and uninfected healthy controls (HCs) from the community were prospectively recruited. Participants were recruited at Wuhan Union Hospital and underwent examinations, including quality-of-life evaluation (St. George Respiratory Questionnaire [SGRQ]), laboratory examination, chest computed tomography (CT) imaging, and pulmonary function tests.Results: A total of 216 participants were recruited, including 95 patients who had recovered from severe/critical COVID-19 (SPs), 51 who had recovered from mild/moderate disease (MPs), 28 who had recovered from asymptomatic disease (APs), and 42 HCs. In total, 154 out of 174 (88.5%) recovered COVID-19 patients tested positive for serum SARS-COV-2 IgG, but only 19 (10.9%) were still positive for IgM. The SGRQ scores were highest in the SPs, while APs had slightly higher SGRQ scores than those of HCs; 85.1% of SPs and 68.0% of MPs still had residual CT abnormalities, mainly ground-glass opacity (GGO) followed by strip-like fibrosis at 3 months after discharge, but the pneumonic lesions were largely absorbed in the recovered SPs or MPs relative to findings in the acute phase. Pulmonary function showed that the frequency of lung diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide abnormalities were comparable in SPs and MPs (47.1 vs. 41.7%), while abnormal total lung capacity (TLC) and residual volume (RV) were more frequent in SPs than in MPs (TLC, 18.8 vs. 8.3%; RV, 11.8 vs. 0%).Conclusions: Pulmonary abnormalities remained after recovery from COVID-19 and were more frequent and conspicuous in SPs at 3 months after discharge.

Efficacy of nintedanib in the treatment of interstitial lung disease associated with systemic scleroderma

Systemic scleroderma is a systemic autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs, including the bronchopulmonary system. The disease leads to progressive pulmonary fibrosis, which is the most common cause of death. Hence, standard therapy of systemic sclerosis should be supplemented with antifibrotic therapy. The article describes a clinical case of the efficacy of a combination of standard therapy with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor nintedanib in a patient with systemic scleroderma and a progressive phenotype ILD. The patient was taking nintedanib in combination with standard therapy (methylprednisolone, mycophenolate mofetil) for 7 months and showed improvement on CT in the form of a significant decrease in the ground glass lesions. In addition, bodyplethysmography showed a decrease in restrictive changes in the external respiration (an increase in the total lung capacity from 49 to 57%), an improvement in the lung diffusion capacity (an increase in total diffusion from 47 to 53%). This clinical case demonstrates the high efficacy of antifibrotic drug nintedanib in the complex therapy of patients with systemic scleroderma and progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Nintedanib increases the efficacy of basic therapy and improves the prognosis.

Lung function in patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis

Aim. To assess the functional parameters of the respiratory system and their impact on the survival of patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM).Materials and methods. A study of lung function (spirometry, bodyplethysmography, diffusion test) was carried out in 131 patients with LAM (mean age 41±10 years), who were under observation and treatment in medical institutions in Moscow (Pulmonology Scientific Research Institute, Sechenov University, Moscow City Clinical Hospital named after D.D.Pletnev). The diagnosis of the disease was made based on the diagnostic criteria for LAM, formulated by a group of experts at the initiative of the European Respiratory Society in the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of LAM.Results. The mean VC value was 95±25% pred., FEV1 /VC − 56±20%, FEV1 − 64±31% pred., DLCO − 49±24% pred. DLCO, FEV1 /VC, FEV1 and VC were reduced in 87, 76, 70 and 27% of patients, respectively. The obstructive ventilatory defect was detected in the overwhelming majority of cases − in 75%, restrictive ventilatory defect − in 4 patients, mixed defect − in 1 patient. In 28 (21%) patients, there were no pulmonary ventilation disorders. The Cox regression model showed that baseline DLCO and FEV1 are the main factors determining the risk of death.Conclusion. In patients with LAM, the obstructive ventilatory defect predominates, the restrictive ventilatory defect is quite rare. The lung diffusion capacity is reduced in 87% of patients with LAM. Parameters of lung function are closely related to survival.

Association of lung diffusion capacity with cardiac remodeling and risk of heart failure: The Framingham heart study

Background Lung function abnormalities are ubiquitous in heart failure (HF). It is unclear, however, if abnormal lung diffusion capacity is associated with cardiac remodeling and antedates HF. We hypothesized that lower lung diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) is associated with worse left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function cross-sectionally, and with higher risk of HF prospectively. Methods We evaluated 2423 Framingham Study participants (mean age 66 years, 55% women) free of HF who underwent routine echocardiography and pulmonary function tests. We used multivariable regression models to relate DLCO, forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left atrial (LA) emptying fraction (LAEF), E/e’, E/A, LV mass, and LA diameter (LAD). Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression was used to relate DLCO, FEV1, and FVC to incident HF. Results In multivariable-adjusted cross-sectional analyses, DLCO, FEV1, and FVC (dependent variables) were associated positively with LVEF (βDLCO = 0.208, βFEV1 = 0.021, and βFVC = 0.025 per 5% increment in LVEF; p<0.005 for all), and LAEF (βDLCO = 0.707, βFEV1 = 0.058 and βFVC = 0.058 per 5% increment in LAEF; p<0.002 for all). DLCO and FVC were inversely related to E/A (βDLCO = -0.289, βFVC = -0.047 per SD increment in E/A; p<0.001 for all). Additionally, DLCO, FEV1 and FVC were inversely related to HF risk (108 events, median follow-up 9.7 years; multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios per SD increment 0.90, 95% CI 0.86–0.95; 0.42, 95% CI 0.28–0.65, and 0.51, 95% CI 0.36–0.73, respectively). These results remained robust in analyses restricted to non-smokers. Conclusions Our large community-based observations are consistent with the concept that lower lung diffusion capacity and expiratory flow rates are associated with cardiac remodeling and may antedate HF. Additional studies are needed to confirm our findings and to evaluate the prognostic utility of pulmonary function testing for predicting HF.