Respiratory dysfunction in patients that recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia: A six-month follow-up study

Background: This study investigates the clinical features and pulmonary functions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia survivors at 3 or 6 months after diagnosis in the Heilongjiang Province, China. Methods: Forty-six patients with COVID-19 pneumonia diagnosed starting from February 2020 were enrolled in this study for follow-up in August 2020. These patients were categorized into three groups: Group A ( n = 24) and Group B ( n = 11), who were diagnosed with moderate or severe pneumonia and followed up at three months after diagnosis, and Group C ( n = 11), who were diagnosed with severe pneumonia and were followed up at 6 months after diagnosis. Pulmonary functions, arterial blood gas analysis, and clinical features, including chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), blood tests, and health-related quality of life during hospitalization and at follow-up visits, were collected and analyzed. Results: Abnormal PO2 (A-a) was more prevalent in severe cases (Groups B and C) than in moderate cases (Group A). Respiratory dysfunction was common in our patients. HRCT showed that the abnormal computed tomography (CT) scores of severe cases (Groups B and C) were significantly higher than those of moderate cases (Group A). During the follow-up period, lung abnormalities gradually resolved in the first three months (Groups A and B); however, further resolution was not significant from 3-6 months (Groups B and C). Conclusion: Although pulmonary interstitial changes due to COVID-19 pneumonia gradually reverse over time, respiratory dysfunction is common and appears to persist for at least up to 6 months in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 pneumonia.