Impact of Covid-19 Pneumonia on Pulmonary Function, Functional Exercise Capacity and Quality of Life

Aim: We aimed to examine pulmonary functions functional exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in COVID-19 pneumonia survivors. Methods: We evaluated survivors of COVID-19 pneumonia cases. Spirometry, carbon-monoxide diffusion capacity tests, 6-minute walking tests were performed. HRQOL was assessed by St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire. Results: Seventy-one PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases of pneumonia were enrolled. There were 49 male and 22 female cases with a mean age of 56.0±14.8 years old. The mean±SD duration from onset of disease to pulmonary function test was 65.1±37.6 days. Anomalies were noted in FEV1% predicted in 13 cases (19.1%), FVC% predicted in 12 cases (17.6%), VC% predicted in 8 (13.8), TLC% pred in 10 (17.2%), and DLCO % predicted in 43 cases (65.2%). Obstructive and restrive ventilatory defects were observed in 19.1% and 15.3% of the participants. The mean 6-minute walking distance was 478.7±114.5 meters. The mean lowest SpO2 identified during 6MWT was 94.1±3.4. The total SGRQ score was 34.3±8.8; whereas symptom, activity, and impact scores were 37.0±14.7, 46.9±0.5, and 25.4±13.4, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings reveal that, in COVID-19 pneumonia survivors, impairment of diffusion capacity is the most common abnormality of lung function, followed by obstructive and restrictive ventilatory defects. Impairment in HRQOL was still evident after a mean of two months in the post-COVID phase. Long-term follow-up is necessary to observe if these impairments persist.