Evaluation of Respiratory Functions with Spirometry in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate respiratory functions in patients Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) with and without pneumonia.
 Material and Methods: This single-center, prospective study included a total of 72 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection as confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR). The patients were divided into two groups according to the physical and thoracic computed tomography (CT) findings as mild symptomatic patients without COVID-19 pneumonia (n=26) and symptomatic cases with COVID-19 pneumonia (n=46). Respiratory functions were evaluated by spirometry in the second and fourth months of the disease onset.
 Results: The average age of 72 patients, 41 of whom were men, was 40.5±12.27 years. Thoracic CT revealed infiltrations compatible with COVID-19 pneumonia in 46 (63.9%) patients. Hypertension (12.5%) and diabetes (5.6%) were the most common comorbidities. When the results of the patients with and without pneumonia at the second and fourth months were compared, there was no significant difference between the forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) (p1=0,975, p2=0,291), forced vital capacity (FVC) (p1=0,668,p2=0,481) and FEV1/FVC ratio (FER) (p1=0,378, p2=0,980) values. When the repeated anova test was used in the comparison of the two visit differences between the groups, it was seen that there was no difference in any heading (FVC: p=0.077; FEV1: p=0.150; FER: p=0.355).
 Conclusions: Our study results show no significant difference in the pulmonary function tests of patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 pneumonia at two and four months, compared to those without pneumonia However, additional studies are needed for severe and critical cases.