Evaluating the Long-Term Pulmonary Effects of Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: A Multicenter Prospective Study
1Dr.Kiran Akbar, 2Umar Tipu,3Muhammad Shiraz Niaz, 4Haroon Raja, 5Tahmoor Ghori, 6Tabassum Raja
Submission: 15 January 2026 | Acceptance: 19 February 2026 | Publication: 13 March 2026,
1Assistant professor medicine, SZH RYK.
2Assistant Professor, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad
3Senior registrar medicine medical unit 3 Sheikh Zayed hospital Rahim yar Khan
4Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad
5Bolan Medical College, Quetta
6Assistant Professor, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad
ABSTRACT:
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic that spread worldwide has left a substantial part of the cured population with post-sickness symptoms that have come to be known under the terms post-COVID-19 syndrome or long COVID. Among them, chronic respiratory complications were recurrently reported. Nevertheless, the longevity of the pulmonary impact of COVID-19 was still poorly comprehended, particularly in low-resource health care.
Objective: The paper was meant to assess the long-term pulmonary sequelae in patients who recovered of having COVID-19, with particular references to hypoxemia during physical exercise and persistent respiratory symptoms, radiological alterations, and impairment of functional pulmonary.
Methods: This is an observational study in terms of prospective design carried out by the researchers in a multicentric study in Sheikh Zayed hospital Rahim yar Khan. One hundred and ten participants, who had recovered after testing positive to COVID-19, were enrolled. The participants were observed during a 12-month course and assessed using clinical assessments, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest, spirometry, and diffusion capacity tests. The demographic, comorbidity, COVID-19 severity, and oxygen dependence data were sources of information that were analyzed and later used to correlate the clinical profiles to the long-term outcomes.
Results: Of all 110 participants surveyed, 68 (61.8%) maintained coughs, dyspnea, and chest tightness more than three months after recovery. Fibertic-like alterations found by HRCT were observed in 33 patients (30%), and the restrictive pattern was revealed by spirometry in 28 patients (25.5%) as well as mixed pattern in 12 (10.9%). Twenty-six people (23.6%) had reduced diffusion capacity. Longitudinal pulmonary impairments were much more likely to develop among patients who previously experienced COVID-19 moderate to severe symptoms forcing hospitalization and additional oxygen administration (p<0.01).
Conclusion: The study confirmed that a considerable part of post-COVID-19 patients had sustained lung abnormalities such as the morphological and functional impairment of the lungs. The results underscored the importance of the long-term respiratory follow-up and rehabilitation programs particularly in the affected persons with severe primary infections.
Keywords: Post-COVID-19 syndrome, long COVID, pulmonary function, HRCT, respiratory sequelae, spirometry, lung fibrosis, Sheikh Zayed hospital Rahim yar Khan