24% of patients of COVID-19 pneumonia may have atelectasis, finds Study

The research is published in the BMC Pulmonary Medicine Journal.

The authors included a total of two-hundred thirty-seven patients, all of whom were admitted to the hospital with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and diagnosed by clinical, radiology and molecular tests in the nasopharyngeal swab who underwent a chest computed tomography because of a respiratory worsening.

Patients were divided into three groups depending on the presence and amount of atelectasis at the computed tomography: no atelectasis, small atelectasis (< 5% of the estimated lung volume) or large atelectasis (> 5% of the estimated lung volume).

In all patients, clinical severity, oxygen-therapy need, Intensive Care Unit admission rate, the length of in-hospital stay and in-hospital mortality data were collected.

The results from the study revealed that thirty patients (19%) showed small atelectasis while eight patients (5%) showed large atelectasis. One hundred and seventeen patients (76%) did not show atelectasis at all.

Patients with large atelectasis compared to patients with small atelectasis had lower SatO2/FiO2 (182 vs 411 respectively, p = 0.01), needed more days of oxygen therapy (20 vs 5 days respectively, p = 0,02), more frequently Intensive Care Unit admission (75% vs 7% respectively, p < 0.01) and a longer period of hospitalization (40 vs 14 days respectively p < 0.01).

Hence, this led the authors to conclude that in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, atelectasis might appear in up to 24% of patients and the presence of larger amount of atelectasis is associated with worse oxygenation and clinical outcome.

Mingote, Á., Albajar, A., García Benedito, P. et al. Prevalence and clinical consequences of atelectasis in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia: a computed tomography retrospective cohort study. BMC Pulm Med 21, 267 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-021-01638-9