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Pulmonary function and exercise capacity in survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome

Depts of ¹ Respiratory Medicine, ² Infectious Diseases, ³ Diagnostic Radiology, ⁴ Psychological Medicine, ⁵ General Medicine, and ⁶ Clinical Epidemiology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital

CORRESPONDENCE: K-C. Ong, Dept of Respiratory Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433. Fax: 65 63577871. E-mail: kian_chung_ong@ttsh.com.sg

Keywords: Convalescence, exercise test, outcomes, pneumonia, spirometry, symptoms

Received: January 20, 2004
Accepted April 29, 2004

This study was supported by a grant from the A*STAR Biomedical Research Council.

The aim of this study was to investigate pulmonary function and exercise capacity in a group of survivors of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

At 3 months after hospital discharge, 46 survivors of SARS underwent the following evaluation: spirometry, static lung volumes and carbon monoxide transfer factor (T_L,CO). In total, 44 of these patients underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

No abnormalities were detected in the pulmonary function tests in 23 (50%) of the patients. Abnormalities of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁), FEV₁/FVC and T_L,CO were detected in seven (15%), 12 (26%), one (2%) and 18 (39%) patients, respectively. All of these abnormalities were mild except in one case. In 18 patients (41%), the maximum aerobic capacity was below the lower limit of the normal range. Breathing reserve was low in four patients and significant oxygen desaturation was detected in a further four patients. Comparison of the measured exercise capacity with resting pulmonary function tests showed many cases of discordance in impairment.

In conclusion, pulmonary function defects were detected in half of the recovered severe acute respiratory syndrome patients 3 months after hospital discharge, but the impairment was mild in almost all cases. Many patients had reduced exercise capacity that cannot be accounted for by impairment of pulmonary function.

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