ArticleInfection2022
Pulmonary function impairment of asymptomatic and persistently symptomatic patients 4 months after COVID-19 according to disease severity.
Article in Infection, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- The role of 6-minute walk test and pulmonary function testing in patients with post COVID-19 condition: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Family practice · 2026Pooled it
- Recovery of lung function during the first year after COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2025Pooled it
- Global prevalence of post-COVID-19 condition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective evidence.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2025Pooled it
- Pathophysiological Mechanisms in Long COVID: A Mixed Method Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome symptoms at different follow-up periods: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2022Pooled it
- The health-related quality of life in patients with post-COVID-19 after hospitalization: a systematic review.Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical · 2022Pooled it
- Relation of pulmonary diffusing capacity changes to HRCT chest and V/Q SPECT findings at short-term and intermediate follow-up after COVID-19: a prospective cohort study (The secure study).European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2026Article
- Association of life's essential 8 with pulmonary function impairment: a cross-sectional analysis of the Kailuan study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Pulmonary function in non-hospitalized adults and children after mild COVID-19: a single-centre prospective cohort study.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Observational
- Respiratory burden in post-acute COVID-19 sequelae: a longitudinal study of airway and systemic inflammation and clinical outcomes.ERJ open research · 2025Article
- Musculoskeletal, Pulmonary, and Cardiovascular COVID-19 Sequelae in the Context of Firefighter Occupational Health: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
- Pulmonary function 3-6 months after acute COVID-19: A systematic review and multicentre cohort study.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Prognostic Factors for Predicting Post-COVID-19 Condition in Patients With COVID-19 in an Outpatient Setting.Journal of Korean medical science · 2024Article
- Health-Related Quality of Life Improves in Parallel with FEV1 and 6-Minute Walking Distance Test at Between 3 and 12 Months in Critical COVID-19 Survivors.American journal of medicine open · 2023Article
- Relationship between exercise capacity and fatigue, dyspnea, and lung function in non-hospitalized patients with long COVID.Physiological reports · 2023Article
- Is Pulmonary Involvement a Distinct Phenotype of Post-COVID-19?Biomedicines · 2023Article
- Radiological and Functional Pulmonary Evolution in Post-COVID-19 Patients: An Observational Study.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Post-COVID-19 Symptoms in Adults with Asthma-Systematic Review.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Induced Relaxation Enhances the Cardiorespiratory Dynamics in COVID-19 Survivors.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- How do German General Practitioners Manage Long-/Post-COVID? A Qualitative Study in Primary Care.Viruses · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveEvaluation of pulmonary function impairment after COVID-19 in persistently symptomatic and asymptomatic patients of all disease severities and characterisation of risk factors.
methodsPatients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection underwent prospective follow-up with pulmonary function testing and blood gas analysis during steady-state cycle exercise 4 months after acute illness. Pulmonary function impairment (PFI) was defined as reduction below 80% predicted of DLCOcSB, TLC, FVC, or FEV1. Clinical data were analyzed to identify risk factors for impaired pulmonary function.
results76 patients were included, hereof 35 outpatients with mild disease and 41 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. Sixteen patients had critical disease requiring mechanical ventilation, 25 patients had moderate-severe disease. After 4 months, 44 patients reported persisting respiratory symptoms. Significant PFI was prevalent in 40 patients (52.6%) occurring among all disease severities. The most common cause for PFI was reduced DLCOcSB (n = 39, 51.3%), followed by reduced TLC and FVC. The severity of PFI was significantly associated with mechanical ventilation (p < 0.001). Further risk factors for DLCO impairment were COPD (p < 0.001), SARS-CoV-2 antibody-Titer (p = 0.014) and in hospitalized patients CT score. A decrease of paO2 > 3 mmHg during cycle exercise occurred in 1/5 of patients after mild disease course.
conclusionWe characterized pulmonary function impairment in asymptomatic and persistently symptomatic patients of different severity groups of COVID-19 and identified further risk factors associated with persistently decreased pulmonary function. Remarkably, gas exchange abnormalities were revealed upon cycle exercise in some patients with mild disease courses and no preexisting pulmonary condition.
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