Abstract:
Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spreading rapidly worldwidely since December 2019, which has a great impact on the golbal health. However, the prognosis of COVID-19 remains unclear.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics, pulmonary functions and radiographic features of COVID-19 patients in the ealrly stage after discharge from hospital.
Methods A total of 38 COVID-19 patients admitted to the Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 20 to April 2 in 2020 were followed up. Of the 38 cases, there were 22 males and 16 females with average age of (50 ±15) years (range, 20 - 78 years). The cases were divided into the severe group (n=12) and the mild/moderate group (n=26). Their symptoms, signs, CT images and pulmonary function were analyzed.
Results During the follow-up, 9 patients had mild cough, 3 patients had chest tightness after exertion, 3 patients experienced hair loss, 2 patients had morning stiffness. Some patients had abnormal pulmonary functions, mainly manifested as mild diffusion dysfunction (7 cases, 18.4%), 6 cases of them were in the severe group. Nine patients (23.7%) had small airway dysfunction, 14 patients (36.8%) had positive results in bronchial challenge test. The diffusion function was negatively correlated with the number of lobes involved on CT (r=-0.387, P=0.024), while positively correlated with lymphocyte count (r=0.399, P=0.021). Abnormal chest HRCT results were found in 23 patients, with ground glass opacity as the main feature, while the lesion had not been completely absorbed in the severe and critically severe cases during the follow-up.
Conclusion After discharge, some COVID-19 patients had cough and chest tightness within 3 months, and abnormal lung function including airway hyperresponsiveness can be found. In severe cases, persisting lung pathologies on CT imaging exist.
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