The long‐term impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome on pulmonary function, exercise capacity and health status

Abstract

This 2-year study of a selected population of SARS survivors, showed significant impairment of DL(CO), exercise capacity and health status persisted, with a more marked adverse impact among HCW.

Lung function and quality of life in survivors of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)

“…Pulmonary function was within low normal limits, and remained relatively unchanged over time [55]. Mean 6MWD increased significantly from 3 to 6 months (439 metres to 460.1 metres) and then stayed steady [53]. Similar results for functional recovery were seen in the 110-patient cohort of Hui et al [56].…”

“…Only 16% of patients had a zonal predominance on imaging [55]. HRCT scores correlated with dyspnea scores (r = 0.78, P < 0.01) and reduced DLCO (r = À0.0923, P < 0.001 [53]. Pulmonary function was within low normal limits, and remained relatively unchanged over time [55].…”

“…In correlating functional outcomes and HRQL, a positive correlation was found between lung function [FVC (r = 0.363, P < 0.01) and FEV1 (r = 0.3, P < 0.05)] and the domain of physical functioning [56]. In addition, 6MWD was found to correlate with all SF-36 domains except emotional role and mental health [53]. No significant association has been found between parameters of pulmonary function and BMI, steroid use, length of stay, admission to ICU, baseline LDH, peak LDH, baseline CRP or peak CRP [53].…”

“…Emerging on the global stage in 2003, a total of 8096 cases with 774 deaths have been reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) [52]. SARS cohorts have been studied at variable times of long-term follow-up; 2-year follow-up data has most recently become available [53]. What is different in the SARS cohort, in comparison to a group of ALI/ARDS patients or generally critically ill, is that the majority of patients did not require advanced support such as mechanical ventilation [54].…”

What's Next After ARDS: Long-Term Outcomes

“…The distance increased quickly in the first year after ICU discharge from 49% to 66 -75% of predicted, and then this value remained nearly constant, at a value that was below the lower limit of normality. 21,25,34,38 Whether this inability to exercise is due to dyspnea or to muscle weakness is unknown; probably, it is multifactorial. In fact, no correlation was found in the literature between parenchymal abnormalities, detected with follow-up CT scan, respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function tests, and 6-min walk tests.…”