Patients with COVID-19 may suffer long-term lung damage but this tends to improve over time, according to what is believed to be the first prospective follow up of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.

At the European Respiratory Society International Virtual Congress, lead investigator Dr Sabina Sahanic (PhD), from University Clinic of Internal Medicine in Innsbruck, Austria, reported pulmonary findings on 86 COVID-19 patients evaluated at six and 12 weeks after discharge.

“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,” Dr Sahanic said.

The patients’ mean age was 61 years, two thirds were male, 48% had a smoking history, 21% required ICU care and 19% required mechanical ventilation.