Post COVID-19 Pulmonary Fibrosis Management: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction Post-COVID-19 Pulmonary Fibrosis (PC-19-PF) is among the complications following COVID-19. It is the complication that is associated with the most amount of long-term impact on the respiratory system. Different physicians approach management in different ways; therefore, we conduct a study to neatly summarize all the different management and their possible outcomes. Methods The databases that were searched included CINAHL, PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and EMBASE to identify English language studies published up to October 5th, 2023. Results Initially, the systematic search conducted brought 150 papers. Out of the 150, 13 of them were included in this study. A total of 662 patients were included in the study, all with different managements for COVID-19-induced pulmonary fibrosis. The mean age was 61.8 years. Many comorbidities were observed in patients with COVID-19-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Different treatment regimens were picked based on the different conditions of the patients but as far as antifibrotics go, Pirfenidone and Nintedanib were the most commonly used ones. Conclusion Both antifibrotics and steroids seemed to yield justifiable outcomes when used separately as well as when used in combination.