Predictors of pulmonary manifestations in long -COVID

Background and objective: Very limited data is available in India regarding the predictors leading to the development of pulmonary manifestations in long- COVID. The objective of this study was to identify the factors leading to the development of pulmonary manifestations, namely persistent cough and dyspnea in long -COVID. Methodology: Retrospective analysis of medical records of all COVID 19 infected patients attending the Pulmonary Medicine outpatient department in PRS Hospital from November 2020 to July 2021 over a period of 9 months were utilized for the study. Those adult patients with persistent cough and/or breathing difficulty for more than 12 weeks after positive COVID 19 tests were included in the analysis. Results: Five hundred and four patients were included in the study. The mean age was 49.9 ± 16.8. Males constituted the majority with 53.6 %(N=270) compared to females (46.4%, N=234)]. More than 5 symptoms which include fever, loss of smell, loss of taste, cough, breathlessness, hemoptysis, diarrhea, fatigue and headache were present in 28.2 %(N=142) individuals. Patients who had long- COVID pulmonary symptoms were more (N=308, 61.1%) than those who had no long- COVID pulmonary symptoms (N=196, 38.9%). Patients with more than 60 years of age and of male gender with presence of comorbidities, rising titer of inflammatory markers within the first 2 weeks of illness, presence of parenchymal bands on CT scan and those who required home oxygen therapy following hospitalization were associated with long- COVID pulmonary symptoms. Conclusions: Early identification of risk factors might help in preventing long term complications like pulmonary fibrosis