Pulmonary function in patients surviving to COVID-19 pneumonia

Fumagalli, Alessia; Misuraca, Clementina; Bianchi, Achille; Borsa, Noemi; Limonta, Simone; Maggiolini, Sveva; Bonardi, Daniela Rita; Corsonello, Andrea; Di Rosa, Mirko; Soraci, Luca; Lattanzio, Fabrizia; Colombo, Daniele

PURPOSE: The aim of our study was to assess respiratory function at the time of clinical recovery and 6 weeks after discharge in patients surviving to COVID-19 pneumonia. METHODS: Our case series consisted of 13 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. RESULTS: At the time of clinical recovery, FEV1 (2.07 ± 0.72 L) and FVC (2.25 ± 0.86 L) were lower compared to lower limit of normality (LLN) values (2.56 ± 0.53 L, p = 0.004, and 3.31 ± 0.65 L, p < 0.001, respectively), while FEV1/FVC (0.94 ± 0.07) was higher compared to upper limit of normality (ULN) values (0.89 ± 0.01, p = 0.029). After 6 weeks pulmonary function improved but FVC was still lower than ULN (2.87 ± 0.81, p = 0.014). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that COVID-19 pneumonia may result in clinically relevant alterations in pulmonary function tests, with a mainly restrictive pattern. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s15010-020-01474-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.