We conducted a prospective single-centre cohort study of 104 multi-ethnic severe COVID-19 survivors from the first wave of the pandemic 15 months after hospitalisation. Of those who were assessed at 4 and 15 months, improvement of ground glass opacities correlated with worsened fibrotic reticulations. Despite a high prevalence of fibrotic patterns (64%), pulmonary function, grip strength, 6 min walk distance and frailty normalised. Overall, dyspnoea, cough and exhaustion did not improve and were not correlated with pulmonary function or radiographic fibrosis at 15 months, suggesting non-respiratory aetiologies. Monitoring persistent, and often subclinical, fibrotic interstitial abnormalities will be needed to determine their potential for future progression.

中文翻译：

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尽管严重感染 COVID-19 后一年多仍出现持续性肺纤维化，但肺功能和运动耐量仍得到改善

我们对住院 15 个月后第一波大流行中的 104 名多种族重症 COVID-19 幸存者进行了一项前瞻性单中心队列研究。在 4 个月和 15 个月时进行评估的患者中，毛玻璃混浊的改善与纤维化网状结构的恶化相关。尽管纤维化模式的患病率很高（64%），但肺功能、握力、6 分钟步行距离和虚弱程度均正常化。总体而言，15 个月时呼吸困难、咳嗽和疲惫没有改善，并且与肺功能或放射学纤维化无关，表明非呼吸病因。需要监测持续的、通常是亚临床的纤维化间质异常，以确定其未来进展的潜力。