Eighty-six patients from an outbreak hotspot in the Tyrol region of Austria were admitted to hospital between April 29 and June 9, then followed up at six, 12 and 24 weeks after discharge.
At the six-week visit, 88 percent of patients showed evidence of lung damage, but this dropped to 56 percent at the 12-week check-up. The results from the 24-week visits are not yet ready to be published.
Meanwhile 65 percent of the cohort showed general symptoms of lung problems at the six-week visit, with breathlessness the most common symptom — 47 percent — followed by coughing — 15 percent.
By 12 weeks, breathlessness had improved and was present in 39 per cent of patients. The proportion of patients coughing did not improve as markedly, however, only dropping to 13 per cent.
Dr Sabina Sahanic, who worked on the study at the University Clinic in Innsbruck, said: “The bad news is that people show lung impairment from Covid-19 weeks after discharge; the good news is that the impairment tends to ameliorate over time, which suggests the lungs have a mechanism for repairing themselves.”
The results will be presented at the European Respiratory Society International Conference. — The Daily Telegraph
Doctors say lungs can repair themselves in three months after serious bout of Covid-19
Image: LUCY NICHOLSON
Lungs can repair themselves after a serious bout of coronavirus in just three months, a new study has revealed, raising hope patients will not be living with debilitating symptoms for years on end.
Doctors said trials showed nearly half of patients had no evidence of lung damage at 12 weeks. Although they confirmed long-standing fears that Covid patients can suffer serious effects weeks after recovering from the virus, the results were the first to show that these tended to heal over time.
Five lesser-known Covid-19 symptoms to look out for
Eighty-six patients from an outbreak hotspot in the Tyrol region of Austria were admitted to hospital between April 29 and June 9, then followed up at six, 12 and 24 weeks after discharge.
At the six-week visit, 88 percent of patients showed evidence of lung damage, but this dropped to 56 percent at the 12-week check-up. The results from the 24-week visits are not yet ready to be published.
Meanwhile 65 percent of the cohort showed general symptoms of lung problems at the six-week visit, with breathlessness the most common symptom — 47 percent — followed by coughing — 15 percent.
By 12 weeks, breathlessness had improved and was present in 39 per cent of patients. The proportion of patients coughing did not improve as markedly, however, only dropping to 13 per cent.
Dr Sabina Sahanic, who worked on the study at the University Clinic in Innsbruck, said: “The bad news is that people show lung impairment from Covid-19 weeks after discharge; the good news is that the impairment tends to ameliorate over time, which suggests the lungs have a mechanism for repairing themselves.”
The results will be presented at the European Respiratory Society International Conference. — The Daily Telegraph
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