Table 5.
Pulmonary findings on follow-up CT scan of severe COVID-19 patients
| Reference | Author | Year | Length of follow-up | CT findings | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [91] | Han (1) | 2021 | 6 months | Fibrotic lung changes (40/114): traction bronchiectasis, parenchymal bands, and/or honeycombing | Independent predictors of fibrosis development: age > 50 years – OR 8.5, HR > 100 bpm – OR 13, or a total chest CT score ≥ 18 – OR 4.2 at admission, length of hospital stay ≥ 17 days – OR 5.5, development of ARDS – OR 13, or need of NIV – OR 6.3 during hospitalization |
| [92] | Han (2) | 2021 | 1 year | Stable fibrotic lung changes and traction bronchiectasis (27/35), compared with 6 months follow-up |
Absence of significant differences in CT scores of fibrotic patients at 6 months and 12 months follow-up Negative correlation between the score of fibrotic lung changes and DLCO% (r = − 0.35, p = 0.01) at 1-year follow-up |
| [93] | Poitevineau | 2021 | 6 months |
Fibrotic lung changes in > 10% of lung parenchyma (12/43): traction bronchiectasis within residual GGO (100%), honeycombing and reticulations (42%) Late organizing pneumonia pattern (19/43): residual ground glass, parenchymal bands |
Higher incidence of fibrotic lung changes in patients with longer ICU stay (median 24 days) and pneumonia extent > 50% at baseline CT |
| [94] | Liu | 2021 | 7 months |
Significantly higher incidence in fibrosis group (12/41): - interlobular septal thickening, irregular interface, reticular pattern, parenchymal band, and traction bronchiectasis - higher levels of opacity score, volume of opacity, and percentage of opacity |
Independent predictors of fibrosis development: age > 50 years – OR 1.078, steroid therapy – OR 12.880, opacity score at discharge – OR 1.565, presence of traction bronchiectasis – OR 13.570 Correlation with fibrosis development: - Abnormal laboratory values: increased D-dimer (median 1.02 mg/L vs. 0.31 mg/L)/LDH (median 220.25 IU/L vs. 182.46 IU/L) and decreased lymphocyte count (median 0.97 × 109/L vs. 1.32 × 109/L) - AUC combined model – fibrosis: 0.945 (clinical and CT indicators) |
| [95] | Tabatabaei | 2020 | 3 months |
Higher incidence in patients with residual disease (22/52): - GGOs (54.5%) - mixed GGOs and subpleural parenchymal bands (31.8%) - pure parenchymal bands (13.7%) |
Higher median CT score in fibrosis group: median 10.3 vs. 7.3 Significantly higher incidence in fibrosis group (12/41): longer hospitalization (median 9.3 days vs. 6.9), higher rate of ICU admission with endotracheal intubation (40.9% vs. 6.7%), leukocytosis (median 7211.7 cells/mm3 vs. 5282.6 cells/mm3), higher number of patients with comorbidities (54.4% vs. 16.7%) |
| [96] | Truffaut | 2021 | 3 months | Significantly higher number of affected segments at baseline (median 17.2) in patients with residual disease (19/22) |
Correlation between number of affected segments at baseline and at follow-up Correlation between number of affected segments at baseline and persistent DLCO impairment and low FEV1 at follow-up |