Air trapping in COVID-19 patients following hospital discharge: retrospective evaluation with paired inspiratory/expiratory thin-section CT

The study reports our experience with paired inspiration/expiration thin-section computed tomographic (CT) scans in the follow-up of COVID-19 patients with persistent respiratory symptoms.

From August 13, 2020, to May 31, 2021, 48 long-COVID patients with respiratory symptoms (27 men and 21 women; median age, 62.0 years; interquartile range: 54.0–69.0 years) underwent follow-up paired inspiration-expiration thin-section CT scans. Patient demographics, length of hospital stay, intensive care unit admission rate, and clinical and laboratory features of acute infection were also included. The scans were obtained on a median of 72.5 days after onset of symptoms (interquartile range: 58.5–86.5) and at least 30 days after hospital discharge. Thin-section CT findings included ground-glass opacity, mosaic attenuation pattern, consolidation, traction bronchiectasis, reticulation, parenchymal bands, bronchial wall thickening, and air trapping. We used a quantitative score to determine the degree of air trapping in the expiratory scans.

Parenchymal abnormality was found in 50% (24/48) of patients and included air trapping (37/48, 77%), ground-glass opacities (19/48, 40%), reticulation (18/48, 38%), parenchymal bands (15/48, 31%), traction bronchiectasis (9/48, 19%), mosaic attenuation pattern (9/48, 19%), bronchial wall thickening (6/48, 13%), and consolidation (2/48, 4%). The absence of air trapping was observed in 11/48 (23%), mild air trapping in 20/48 (42%), moderate in 13/48 (27%), and severe in 4/48 (8%). Independent predictors of air trapping were, in decreasing order of importance, gender (p = 0.0085), and age (p = 0.0182).

Our results, in a limited number of patients, suggest that follow-up with paired inspiratory/expiratory CT in long-COVID patients with persistent respiratory symptoms commonly displays air trapping.