These can be precursors to pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary lesions can be observed in x-ray images of some patients admitted due to COVID. One of the scientific community’s main concerns regarding the potential after-effects of COVID-19 infection is the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Various investigations in this field, which are still being carried out, will determine the real impact of the after-effects of this disease, especially those that persist in the mid- and long-term, in other words, 6 and 12 months after the serious illness caused by COVID. In the Pneumocovid study, which involved more than 200 patients admitted to Hospital Clínic with serious COVID-19, approximately 25% of patients presented changes to respiratory function three months after being discharged from hospital. However, the study was carried out on a small group of patients, with all the limitations this involves. It is observed that 40% display changes to respiratory function a month after discharge, although the large majority of patients can carry out their day-to-day activities with no restrictions. One study described that more than half of patients who had to be admitted to hospital due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus continued to present symptoms two months after the start of the illness, with fatigue and dyspnoea (a feeling of shortness of breath) being the most common.Īt the pulmonary level, a recent article analyses patients discharged from intensive care units after suffering a serious illness. Currently, there is not enough reliable data on the mid- and long-term consequences of pneumonia caused by COVID-19.

Residual effects of covid