Severe COVID-19: how are these patients today

<bold>Background:</bold> The COVID-19 pandemic has left a significant global impact, affecting millions of individuals. Long-term sequelae have been described, which compromise patients' quality of life. <bold>Objective:</bold> The aim of this study is to evaluate patients with severe COVID-19, in a follow-up period, after being discharged from Intensive Care Unit (ICU). <bold>Methods:</bold> This is a retrospective and observational study, which included patients with severe COVID-19 who required admission to the ICU, from January to September 2021, and who maintained respiratory symptoms or functional limitations three months after discharge. Respiratory symptoms were assessed, lung function tests and chest computed tomography scans were performed. <bold>Results:</bold> Thirty-four patients were included. Dyspnea was the predominant symptom in the first and subsequent assessments (100% vs 51.52%, respectively), with a gradual improvement. In respiratory function tests, the main changes were a decrease in the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide, restrictive ventilatory impairment and a decrease in muscle strength. Regarding imaging changes, ground glass opacities, organizational pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis stand out, with fibrotic changes persisting throughout the evaluation period in some patients (37.5%). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Our results showed that patients with severe COVID-19 can fully recover with minimal sequelae. However, some may experience the long COVID, which can persist beyond twelve months post-infection, presenting persistent symptoms, functional respiratory and imaging changes that tend to improve over time. More studies are needed to evaluate the long-term consequences of this disease and understand the factors that lead some patients to develop long COVID.