TY - JOUR T1 - Dyspnoea, lung function and CT findings three months after hospital admission for COVID-19 JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J DO - 10.1183/13993003.03448-2020 SP - 2003448 AU - Tøri Vigeland Lerum AU - Trond Mogens Aaløkken AU - Eivind Brønstad AU - Bernt Aarli AU - Eirik Ikdahl AU - Kristine Marie Aarberg Lund AU - Michael T. Durheim AU - Jezabel Rivero Rodriguez AU - Carin Meltzer AU - Kristian Tonby AU - Knut Stavem AU - Ole Henning Skjønsberg AU - Haseem Ashraf AU - Gunnar Einvik Y1 - 2020/01/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2020/11/26/13993003.03448-2020.abstract N2 - The long-term pulmonary outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are unknown. We aimed to describe self-reported dyspnoea, quality of life, pulmonary function, and chest CT findings three months following hospital admission for COVID-19. We hypothesised outcomes to be inferior for patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU), compared with non-ICU patients.Discharged COVID-19-patients from six Norwegian hospitals were consecutively enrolled in a prospective cohort study. The current report describes the first 103 participants, including 15 ICU patients. Modified Medical Research Council dyspnoea scale (mMRC), EuroQol Group's Questionnaire, spirometry, diffusion capacity (DLCO), six-minute walk test, pulse oximetry, and low-dose CT scan were performed three months after discharge.mMRC was >0 in 54% and >1 in 19% of the participants. The median (25th–75th percentile) forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one second were 94% (76, 121) and 92% (84, 106) of predicted, respectively. DLCO was below the lower limit of normal in 24%. Ground-glass opacities (GGO) with >10% distribution in ≥1 of 4 pulmonary zones were present in 25%, while 19% had parenchymal bands on chest CT. ICU survivors had similar dyspnoea scores and pulmonary function as non-ICU patients, but higher prevalence of GGO (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 4.2 [1.1, 15.6]) and performance in lower usual activities.Three months after admission for COVID-19, one fourth of the participants had chest CT opacities and reduced diffusion capacity. Admission to ICU was associated with pathological CT findings. This was not reflected in increased dyspnoea or impaired lung function.Three months after discharge, one-fourth of COVID-19 survivors have reduced gas diffusion capacity and persistent parenchymal opacities. ICU treatment is associated with persistent parenchymal opacities, but not with dyspnoea or reduced diffusion capacity. ER -