ABSTRACT
The aim of our study was to assess the ventilation function of the lungs in persons who had pneumonia after COVID-19 in the Pridneprovie region in January-April 2021, and to determine the types of ventilation disorders and their severity. We examined 41 people who had pneumonia after COVID-19 not earlier than 4 weeks after the onset of clinical symptoms (the median is 48 (40;68) days). All of them made up the main group (average age - 55.8 +/- 5.6 years, men - 21 (51.2%), women - 20 (48.8%)). Patients were divided into two subgroups depending on the severity of the coronavirus disease in the acute period: subgroup 1 included 26 people (average age - 56.1 +/- 4.2 years;men - 12 (42.2%), women - 14 (53.8%)) who had a mild course of the acute period of the disease;subgroup 2 - 15 people (average age - 55.2 +/- 5.3 years, men - 9 (60.0%), women - 6 (40.0%)), who had a severe course of the acute period of COVID-19. Clinical examination, assessment of dyspnea (The Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea scale), level of the cough and sputum (by the Savchenko scale), oxygen saturation, spirometry with a bronchodilation test were conducted. Almost half of the patients with pneumonia after COVID-19 had various disorders of the ventilation function of the lungs. In cases with a mild course of the acute period of COVID-19, obstructive changes were significantly more frequent (p=0.035), and in patients with a severe course of the acute period of COVID-19 - restrictive disorders (p=0.002) prevailed. Bronchoobstructive changes in the post-COVID period are most often caused not by decrease in the forced expiratory volume per second but by the ratio of (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (below 0.7) and/or by the presence of visualized changes in the "flow-volume" curve.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the level of pulmonary ventilation function in patients with COVID‑19 after six months post⁃discharge and analyze the relevant influencing factors. Methods: In November 2020, patients with COVID‑19 were investigated in a district of Wuhan City, Hubei Province. Their pulmonary ventilation function indicators were measured, including forced vital capacity of percent predicted (FVC%pred), forced expiratory volume in one second of percent predicted (FEV1%pred), FEV1/FVC ratio (FEV1/FVC%), forced expiratory flow at 50% of percent predicted (FEF50%pred), forced expiratory flow at 75% of percent predicted (FEF75%pred), mean forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of percent predicted (MMEF%pred). The related factors affecting pulmonary ventilation function were analyzed. Results: A total of 151 discharged cases were recruited, which included 64 cases of mild illness, 87 cases of moderate illness. The average age of both men and women in the mild group was significantly higher than that in the moderate group (P<0.05). The mean values of the lung ventilation function indexes were all within the normal range. The FVC%pred in both male and female and FEV1%pred in female were better in the mild group than that in the moderate group (P<0.05). Some patients had mild abnormal pulmonary ventilation function and 11 cases in the mild group, 46 cases in the moderate group. Multi‑factor logistic regression analysis showed that women [OR=3.012, 95%CI(1.249,7.264)], the presence of a previous history of chronic disease [OR=2.739, 95%CI(1.186,6.326)], and cases of moderate illness [OR=6.365, 95%CI(2.730,14.840)] were the risk factors for abnormal pulmonary ventilation function after discharge. Conclusion: Half a year after discharge, the pulmonary ventilation function of both mild and moderate group patients recovered well. Women and those with chronic disease in the past should have more targeted health guidance during the post‑discharge recovery period. © 2022, Editorial Board of Medical Journal of Wuhan University. All right reserved.