82% Covid patients showed abnormal lung function: PGI

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 28

Around 82 per cent of serious Covid patients, including those who required mechanical ventilation, had abnormal lung function at three months post-ICU discharge, finds study conducted by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).

Twenty-one patients (18.4 per cent), out of the 114 patients contacted, had died within the first three months post-ICU discharge.

The survivors of Covid-19 pneumonia may have residual lung injury and poor physical and mental health even after discharge. The PGIMER study analysed the differences in pulmonary function, mental health, and quality of life (QOL) after recovery, in patients having received non-invasive oxygen therapy versus invasive mechanical ventilation during ICU stay.

Patients above the age of 18 years, who had completed three months post-ICU discharge, with moderate to severe Covid-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), were consecutively enrolled from May 1 to July 31. Of the 189 patients admitted to ICU from January 1 to April 30, 2021, 145 were discharged. Of them, 31 were lost to follow-up.

The remaining 114 patients were contacted telephonically at three months post-discharge. Twenty-one patients had died within the first three months post-ICU discharge.

Among the 93 survivors, 81 reported to the hospital to participate in the study. Of them, only 74 patients could successfully complete the study. In the study, 61 (82%) patients had abnormal lung function at three months post-ICU discharge.

In the study, the researchers found that the majority of patients receiving non-invasive oxygen therapy, and all patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation had a restrictive pattern on spirometry.

Restrictive lung disease is characterised by a decrease in the total volume of air that the lungs are able to hold, and is often due to a decrease in the elasticity of the lungs themselves or caused by a problem related to the expansion of the chest wall during inhalation.

The researchers concluded that the patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) have a greater risk of impaired pulmonary function and reduced QOL post-ICU discharge.

“Our study shows that patients requiring mechanical ventilation for the management of Covid pneumonia are at greater risk of pulmonary function abnormalities and physical limitation after discharge from the hospital. A strict follow-up protocol is essential after recovery from mechanical ventilation for Covid-19 pneumonia as the incidence of functional limitations is high. There may be a greater need for rehabilitative therapies for such patients,” read the study.