TABLE 1.
Patient characteristics and follow-up findings
| All | Normal | Late OP pattern | Fibrosis | p-value | |
| Subjects n | 43 | 12 | 19 | 12 | |
| Age, years | 56.0 (50.5–64.0) | 56.0 (46.0–63.3) | 55.0 (51.5–64.0) | 62.0 (50.5–63.5) | 0.816 |
| Male gender | 32/43 (74) | 9/12 (75) | 13/19 (68) | 10/12 (83) | 0.755 |
| Smoker | 13/39 (33) | 6/11 (55) | 3/16 (19) | 4/12 (33) | 0.149 |
| Comorbidities | |||||
| Diabetes | 21/43 (49) | 6/12 (50) | 12/19 (63) | 3/12 (25) | 0.146 |
| Hypertension | 17/43 (39) | 5/12 (42) | 8/19 (42) | 4/12 (33) | 0.925 |
| Obesity | 10/43 (23) | 3/12 (25) | 5/19 (26) | 2/12 (17) | 0.902 |
| Cardiovascular disease | 11/43 (26) | 3/12 (25) | 7/19 (37) | 1/12 (8) | 0.222 |
| Chronic respiratory disease | 3/43 (7) | 1/12 (8) | 0/19 (0) | 2/12 (17) | 0.164 |
| Cancer | 8/43 (19) | 5/12 (42) | 2/19 (11) | 1/12 (8) | 0.066 |
| Disease extent on initial CT scan | 0.003 | ||||
| <50% | 19/33 (58) | 9/9 (100) | 7/13 (54) | 3/11 (27) | |
| >50% | 14/33 (42) | 0/9 (0) | 6/13 (46) | 8/11 (73) | |
| Length of ICU stay, days | 15 (9–32) | 12 (3–17) | 19 (11–32) | 24 (11–49) | 0.179 |
| Tracheal intubation | 33/43 (77) | 8/12 (67) | 14/18 (78) | 11/12 (92) | 0.404 |
| Delay between ICU admission and follow-up CT, months | 7.1 (5.9–9.1) | 7.5 (6.4–9.8) | 6.8 (6.0–8.7) | 7.3 (5.5–9.2) | 0.668 |
| CT findings | |||||
| Ground-glass opacities | 29/43 (67) | 0 (0) | 17/19 (89) | 12/12 (100) | |
| Parenchymal bands | 26/43 (60) | 0 (0) | 15/19 (79) | 10/12 (83) | |
| Traction bronchiectasis | 12/43 (28) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 12/12 (100) | |
| Reticulations | 5/43 (12) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 5/12 (42) | |
| Delay between ICU admission and follow-up PFTs, months | 7.9 (6.2–10.0) | 8.1 (6.4–10.1) | 6.8 (5.8–8.5) | 10.0 (8.3–10.8) | 0.024 |
| Follow-up PFTs results | |||||
| Impaired TLC | 4/39 (10) | 1/9 (11) | 0/19 (0) | 3/11 (27) | 0.035 |
| % of predicted TLC | 93 (85–96) | 93 (90–96) | 93 (88–96) | 93 (81–98) | 0.693 |
| Impaired FVC | 6/39 (14) | 1/9 (11) | 1/19 (5) | 4/11 (36) | 0.073 |
| % of predicted FVC | 94 (83–105) | 97 (87–99) | 94 (84–105) | 94 (74–105) | 0.810 |
| Impaired DLCO | 31/38 (82) | 6/9 (67) | 16/18 (89) | 9/11 (82) | 0.361 |
| % of predicted DLCO | 64 (50–76) | 78 (67–83) | 64 (51–75) | 61 (45–70) | 0.138 |
Quantitative data are presented as median (interquartile range) and qualitative data are presented as n/N (%). OP: organising pneumonia; CT: computed tomography; ICU: intensive care unit; PFTs: pulmonary function tests; FVC: forced vital capacity; TLC: total lung capacity; DLCO: diffusing capacity of the lung for the lung monoxide.