04/07/2022 11:13 (act 04/07/2022 11:13)
Swiss doctors have observed a new form of pulmonary fibrosis in hospitalized patients with corona. ©APA/dpa/Sina Schuldt
Doctors at the University Hospital of Zurich have described a new form of pulmonary fibrosis that can occur in patients with corona.
Surprisingly, the condition occurred in patients who were hospitalized but did not always require ventilation or suffered from respiratory failure. The team led by pulmonologist René Hage described the newly discovered form of pulmonary fibrosis called post-Covid pulmonary fibrosis (PCPF) in the journal “Annals of Medicine”.
New form of pulmonary fibrosis in hospitalized patients with corona
However, more research is needed to accurately predict this form of pulmonary fibrosis and the best way to treat it. Pulmonary fibrosis causes chronic inflammation of the connective tissue in the lungs. This leads to the proliferation, hardening and scarring of connective tissue in the respiratory organ. If caught early, pulmonary fibrosis can, in some cases, be delayed or even stopped with medication, as the university hospital announced on Thursday.
Major Decreases in Respiratory Performance in Hospitalized Covid Patients
Doctors observed that some hospitalized Covid 19 patients who did not need to be ventilated had a greater loss of respiratory performance than critically ill patients. In the images of the lungs, they found signs of inflammation and indications of pulmonary fibrosis with already irreversible damage to the lung tissue.
Atypical sequelae in patients with pulmonary fibrosis
“The patients in whom we found this pulmonary fibrosis showed severe secondary disease that was atypical for the course of their disease,” Hage said in a statement.
Tissue changes only visible months after corona infection
As the tissue changes only became apparent months after the coronavirus infection, patients with Covid 19 who still have breathing difficulties after a few weeks and do not feel improvement should be carefully monitored with lung tests and, on a case-by-case basis, checked with a CT scan. of the lungs, said the pulmonologist. In this way, pulmonary fibrosis could be detected at an early stage. Studies are already underway to determine which of the available antifibrosis drugs are most effective in this form of pulmonary fibrosis.