To describe the long-term health outcomes of patients with COVID-19 and investigate the potential risk factors. Clinical data during hospitalization and at a mean (SD) day of 249 (15) days after discharge from 40 survivors with confirmed COVID-19 (including 25 severe cases) were collected and analyzed retrospectively. At follow-up, severe cases had higher incidences of persistent symptoms, DLCO impairment, and higher abnormal CT score as compared with mild cases. CT score at follow-up was positively correlated with age, LDH level, cumulative days of oxygen treatment, total dosage of glucocorticoids used, and CT peak score during hospitalization. DLCO% at follow-up was negatively correlated with cumulative days of oxygen treatment during hospitalization. DLCO/VA% at follow-up was positively correlated with BMI, and TNF-α level. Among the three groups categorized as survivors with normal DLCO, abnormal DLCO but normal DLCO/VA, and abnormal DLCO and DLCO/VA, survivors with abnormal DLCO and DLCO/VA had the lowest serum IL-2R, IL-8, and TNF-α level, while the survivors with abnormal DLCO but normal DLCO/VA had the highest levels of inflammatory cytokines during hospitalization. Altogether, COVID-19 had a greater long-term impact on the lung physiology of severe cases. The long-term radiological abnormality maybe relate to old age and the severity of COVID-19. Either absent or excess of inflammation during COVID-19 course would lead to the impairment of pulmonary diffusion function.
【저자키워드】 Infectious diseases, Diseases, Respiratory tract diseases, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, Inflammation, Hospitalization, lung, LDH, outcome, Symptoms, glucocorticoid, discharge, serum, Health, severity of COVID-19, clinical, Factors, severe cases, IL-8, age, Follow-up, incidence, BMI, Inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, Oxygen treatment, dosage, potential risk, mild cases, Severe case, cumulative, impairment, abnormality, diffusion, survivor, radiological, lowest, Course, greater, highest, analyzed, collected, correlated, three group, patients with COVID-19, positively correlated, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19, lung, Pulmonary function, Characteristics, physiological, follow-up study, Radiographic, survivor,