Cross sectional study to assess the impact of COVID-19 infection on pulmonary function tests in children

Abstract

Context: Pediatric data on long-term sequalae of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on pulmonary functions (PFT) are lacking from South east Asia. Aim: To assess the long-term effect of pediatric COVID-19 disease on PFT. Study design: Prospective cohort trial with follow-up of COVID-19 positive children with PFT at Department of Pediatrics, Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, Delhi, India. Methods: Pulmonary function test was performed after an average duration of 8.3 ± 2 months (range 7–14) following COVID-19 in 20 children (age 7–18 years) with different disease severity. Findings were recorded and compared among the subgroups. A pre-structured proforma was used for clinical examination and scoring systems. Statistical analysis: Categorical data were presented as counts and percentage, and skewed distribution as median/interquartile ranges. Relevant tests of significance were applied for comparison between groups. Results: At baseline, fever (80%) and associated cough, headache, myalgia, and fatigue were the most common presenting clinical features (≥50% of cases). Concomitant gastrointestinal disturbances were identified in 10%–30% of cases. On follow-up, respiratory rate, SpO2, and single breath count along with chest auscultation were normal in all children. Mean saturation on follow-up was 98.5 ± 0.76. The PFT revealed that forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV1), 0.5s (FEV0.5), FEV1/forced vital capacity, and peak expiratory flow rate remained normal (>80% predicted). This was comparable across subgroups (mild vs. moderate/severe and ground glass opacity, ground glass opacities [GGO] vs. non GGO group; P value ≥ 0.05). Conclusions: These observations suggest that children with mild/moderate infection may not develop long-term sequelae as evaluated in this study.