Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic Of Iran

en Impact of COVID-19 Pneumonia on Chest Computed Tomography Scan and Spirometry During Six Months COVID 19 Original Research Original Research     Background: Approximately a third of patients with SARS-CoV-2 have shown changes in respiratory function, impaired diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide, and persistent lung damage, one year after discharge. In severe COVID-19, patients may have a restrictive or obstructive defect in spirometry during and after recovery. One hypothesis is that respiratory symptoms in survivors might be attributable to pulmonary fibrosis. In this context, we evaluate spirometry and chest computed tomography (CT), 3 and 6 months after discharge, to further investigate the improvement of respiratory function in discharged patients with COVID-19.    Methods: This cohort study was conducted on 260 Iranian COVID-19 patients with a COVID-19 PCR-positive pneumonia. A chest CT scan was done at admission and 6 months after discharge. Also, a spirometry test was done 3 and 6 months after discharge. We used the Chi-Square test, t-test, Pearson's coefficient, and linear regression multivariate analysis by SPSS version 26.0 to analyze the data.    Results: We identified that the most common chest CT scan abnormalities at presentation were ground glass opacities (GGO) (206 (79.23%)) and consolidation (183 (70.4%)). However, these sequelae were improved retrospectively 6 months after discharge to 17 (6.53%) and 16 (6.2%). The present study revealed abnormal spirometry in 81 (30.8%) cases in the 3rd month and 61 (23.9%) cases in the 6th month after acute COVID-19 pneumonia. There was a negative correlation between GGO score and spirometry parameters in both follow-ups (P values were < 0.016).    Conclusion: In summary, our study indicated that abnormal spirometry in the post-COVID-19 recovery phase is associated with a higher risk of long-term parenchymal lung disease, characterized by fibrotic-like changes in chest CT scans and smoking status, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease.   COVID-19, Spirometry, Chest Computed Tomography Scans, Restrictive Lung Disease 872 880 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-9215-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mahdi Yadollahzadeh Yadollahzadeh.m@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460092753 200319475328460092753 No Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Firoozgar General Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Manizhe Ataee Kachuee manizhe.ataei64@gmai.com 200319475328460092754 200319475328460092754 No Department of Radiology, Firoozgar Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Neda Rahimian dr.nrahimian@gmail.com 200319475328460092755 200319475328460092755 No Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Firoozgar General Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Nahid Hashemi-Madani nahid.hashemimadani@gmail.com 200319475328460092756 200319475328460092756 No Endocrine Research Center, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran Rana Shahabi Rana.shahabi95@yahoo.com 200319475328460092757 200319475328460092757 No Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Seyed Ali Javad Mousavi dr_moocavi_pul@yahoo.com 200319475328460092758 200319475328460092758 No Air Pollution Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mojtaba Malek Malekmoj@gmail.com 200319475328460092759 200319475328460092759 Yes Research Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran