TY - JOUR T1 - Respiratory symptoms and radiological findings in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome JF - ERJ Open Research JO - erjor DO - 10.1183/23120541.00479-2021 VL - 8 IS - 2 SP - 00479-2021 AU - Etienne-Marie Jutant AU - Olivier Meyrignac AU - Antoine Beurnier AU - Xavier Jaïs AU - Tai Pham AU - Luc Morin AU - Athénaïs Boucly AU - Sophie Bulifon AU - Samy Figueiredo AU - Anatole Harrois AU - Mitja Jevnikar AU - Nicolas Noël AU - Jérémie Pichon AU - Anne Roche AU - Andrei Seferian AU - Samer Soliman AU - Jacques Duranteau AU - Laurent Becquemont AU - Xavier Monnet AU - Olivier Sitbon AU - Marie-France Bellin AU - Marc Humbert AU - Laurent Savale AU - David Montani A2 - , Y1 - 2022/04/01 UR - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/8/2/00479-2021.abstract N2 - Rationale The characteristics of patients with respiratory complaints and/or lung radiologic abnormalities after hospitalisation for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are unknown. The objectives were to determine their characteristics and the relationships between dyspnoea, radiologic abnormalities and functional impairment.Methods In the COMEBAC (Consultation Multi-Expertise de Bicêtre Après COVID-19) cohort study, 478 hospital survivors were evaluated by telephone 4 months after hospital discharge, and 177 who had been hospitalised in an intensive care unit (ICU) or presented relevant symptoms underwent an ambulatory evaluation. New-onset dyspnoea and cough were evaluated, and the results of pulmonary function tests and high-resolution computed tomography of the chest were collected.Results Among the 478 patients, 78 (16.3%) reported new-onset dyspnoea, and 23 (4.8%) new-onset cough. The patients with new-onset dyspnoea were younger (56.1±12.3 versus 61.9±16.6 years), had more severe COVID-19 (ICU admission 56.4% versus 24.5%) and more frequent pulmonary embolism (18.0% versus 6.8%) (all p≤0.001) than patients without dyspnoea. Among the patients reassessed at the ambulatory care visit, the prevalence of fibrotic lung lesions was 19.3%, with extent <25% in 97% of the patients. The patients with fibrotic lesions were older (61±11 versus 56±14 years, p=0.03), more frequently managed in an ICU (87.9 versus 47.4%, p<0.001), had lower total lung capacity (74.1±13.7 versus 84.9±14.8% pred, p<0.001) and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) (73.3±17.9 versus 89.7±22.8% pred, p<0.001). The combination of new-onset dyspnoea, fibrotic lesions and DLCO <70% pred was observed in eight out of 478 patients.Conclusions New-onset dyspnoea and mild fibrotic lesions were frequent at 4 months, but the association of new-onset dyspnoea, fibrotic lesions and low DLCO was rare.New-onset dyspnoea is a frequent complaint 4 months after #COVID19 and is generally multifactorial, and the combination of new-onset dyspnoea, fibrotic lesions and DLCO <70% pred is rarely observed https://bit.ly/3q4hyyM ER -