Background The aims of this study were to evaluate the results of endoscopic dilation for simple benign airway stenosis in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and whether COVID-19 infection was associated with higher rate of recurrence compared with a control group.

Methods It was an observational multicenter study including consecutive patients with simple benign airway stenosis undergoing endoscopic dilatation with at least 6 months of follow-up. The outcome of patients with COVID-19 infection was compared with that of a control group in relation to patient and stenosis characteristics, and procedure type. Then, univariable and multivariable analyses identified the risk factors for recurrence.

Results Seventy-nine patients were included in the study; 56 (71%) of these developed airway stenosis after COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 patients presented a higher rate of stenosis due to prolonged intubation (82 vs. 43%; p = 0.0014); no other differences were found regarding demographic data, characteristics of stenosis, and procedure type. Twenty-four (30%) patients had recurrence after first dilatation (32% for No-COVID-19 vs. 26% for COVID-19 group; p = 0.70), and in 11 (35%) of these, the stenosis recurred after repeated endoscopic treatment (65% for No-COVID-19 vs. 45% for COVID-19 group; p = 0.40). Subglottic stenosis (p = 0.013) and the use of laser (p = 0.016) were significant predictive factors for stenosis recurrence.

Conclusion COVID-19 infection did not affect the outcome of endoscopic treatment of simple airway stenosis, and the treatment of these subsets of patients should not differ from that of general population.

背景 本研究的目的是评估 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 患者单纯良性气道狭窄的内镜扩张结果，以及与对照组相比，COVID-19 感染是否与较高的复发率相关。

方法 这是一项观察性多中心研究，包括连续接受内镜扩张的单纯性良性气道狭窄患者，并随访至少 6 个月。将 COVID-19 感染患者的结果与对照组的患者和狭窄特征以及手术类型进行比较。然后，单变量和多变量分析确定了复发的危险因素。

结果 79 名患者纳入研究；其中 56 人 (71%) 在感染 COVID-19 后出现气道狭窄。COVID-19 患者由于插管时间延长而出现狭窄率较高（82% vs. 43%；p  = 0.0014）；在人口统计数据、狭窄特征和手术类型方面没有发现其他差异。24 名 (30%) 名患者在首次扩张后复发（No-COVID-19 组为 32%，COVID-19 组为 26%；p = 0.70  ），其中 11 名 (35%) 患者狭窄复发重复内镜治疗后（No-COVID-19 组为 65%，而 COVID-19 组为 45%；p  = 0.40）。声门下狭窄 ( p  = 0.013) 和激光的使用 ( p = 0.016）是狭窄复发的显着预测因素。

结论 COVID-19感染不影响单纯性气道狭窄的内镜治疗结果，这些患者亚群的治疗不应与一般人群有差异。