Many hospitalized COVID-19 Pneumonia Patients develop residual interstitial lung disease

One-third of Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia developed residual Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), 3-6 months post-discharge as per a recent study. This was published in the journal 'Respiratory Care 2022.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has caused quite a havoc in the lives of people worldwide. Secondary changes to chronic lung diseases by COVID-19 have become well evident but the factors that cause Interstitial Lung Disease in COVID-19-affected Pneumonia were unknown. So, researchers from Turkey have conducted a study to determine the risk factors that affect the development of interstitial lung disease in subjects with COVID-19 pneumonia who were hospitalized. 

A retrospective analysis of COVID-19 pneumonia was performed on hospitalized patients between 2020-21. Relevant data like Smoking histories, comorbidities, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test results, laboratory parameters at the time of the diagnosis, oxygen support, the use of corticosteroids with dosage and duration data, and the need for ICU care were recorded. During their 3–6 months follow-up visit, High-resolution computed tomographies (HRCT) were obtained for study participants. The subjects were classified as having residual parenchymal lung disease if a follow-up HRCT revealed parenchymal abnormalities except for pure ground-glass opacities. The Control group had patients with normal chest radiograph or HRCT in their follow-up visit or the presence of pure ground-glass opacities. Demographic and clinical abnormalities, laboratory parameters, treatment regimens, and the need for ICU care were compared between the two groups.

Key findings:

• 446 subjects were included in the study.
• The mean ± SD age was 58.4 ± 13.87 years, with 257 men (57.6%).
• 55 subjects had normal HRCT features on their follow-up HRCT, and 157 had abnormal lung parenchymal findings.
• Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed statistically significant results for age, sex, corticosteroid treatment, and the need for ICU care for predicting interstitial lung disease development.
• The residual disease group had significantly higher leukocyte and neutrophil counts and lower lymphocyte counts.
• Correlated with these findings, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios were significantly higher in the residual disease group.

Thus, the researchers concluded that Residual parenchymal disease was observed 3-6 months after discharge in one-third of the subjects hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia and further added that interstitial lung disease developed more frequently in older men and those subjects with more-severe disease parameters.

For the full article, click here:  https://doi.org/10.4187/respcare.09816 

Polat G, Özdemir Ö, Ermin S, et al. Factors Affecting the Risk of Interstitial Lung Disease Development in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia [published online ahead of print, 2022 Jul 5]. Respir Care. 2022;respcare.09816. doi:10.4187/respcare.09816