Oximetry at admission as a predictor of tomographic and functional impairment after 3–6 months in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

Abstract

Objective To investigate characteristics that may be associated with radiologic and functional findings following discharge in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods This single-center, prospective, observational cohort study comprised patients aged >18 years who were hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia, between May and October 2020. After 3 to 6 months of discharge, patients were clinically evaluated and underwent spirometry, a 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and chest computed tomography (CT). Statistical analysis was performed using association and correlation tests. Results A total of 134 patients were included (25/114 [22%] were admitted with severe hypoxemia). On the follow-up chest CT, 29/92 (32%) had no abnormalities, regardless of the severity of the initial involvement, and the mean 6MWT distance was 447 m. Patients with desaturation on admission had an increased risk of remaining CT abnormalities: patients with SpO2 between 88 and 92% had a 4.0-fold risk, and those with SpO2 < 88% had a 6.2-fold risk. The group with SpO2 < 88% also walked shorter distances than patients with SpO2 between 88 and 92%. Conclusion Initial hypoxemia was found to be a good predictor of persistent radiological abnormalities in follow-up and was associated with low performance in 6MWT.

Health-Related Quality of Life Improves in Parallel with FEV1 and 6-Minute Walking Distance Test at Between 3 and 12 Months in Critical COVID-19 Survivors

“… 30 For 6MWT, the sole predictive factor was the number of affected segments on the chest CT. Villar et al. reported the same findings in 134 patients assessed 3-6 months after hospitalization for COVID-19: patients with abnormal CT at 3-6 months following discharge presented with lower median 6MWT than those with normal CT. 31 …”