Pulmonary function testing patterns in patients recovering from COVID-19, a prospective observational study.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of abnormal pulmonary function tests and their pattern after four weeks in patients recovering from COVID-19. Study Design: Survey-based Cross Sectional Observational study. Setting: COVID 19 Isolation Ward, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar. Period: June 23, 2021, to December 21, 2021. Methods: This study was conducted on 183 patients aged 18 – 70 years of either gender having severe or critical COVID-19 pneumonia necessitating admission to COVID-Unit were enrolled using a non-probability consecutive sampling technique. Discharged patients of COVID-19 were called for follow-up after 4 weeks of discharge, and a pulmonary function test was done to determine the frequency of abnormal pulmonary function tests and their pattern after COVID infection. Results: In our study total of 183 patients were enrolled with a mean age of 36.3±14.6 years. There were 53% male and 47% female patients. The mean height was 155.06 ± 13.3cm, the mean weight was 71.4±11.2 kg, and the mean BMI was 29.7±5.8kg/m2. Abnormal pulmonary function tests were present in 32.8% of patients. Among these patients, 49 (81.6%) had restrictive patterns, while 11(18.3%) patients had an obstructive pattern on spirometry. Conclusion: Patients infected with COVID-19 showed deranged lung function, with most patients having a restrictive type pattern 4 weeks after being discharged from the hospital.