(Iowa City, IA) -- Iowa researchers are looking into a potential long-lasting effect of COVID-19 in the lungs. A University of Iowa study has found signs of "small airways disease," even among those who had very mild COVID symptoms. Researchers say the issue seems to be related to either inflammation or fibrosis that could lead to breathing problems.
“For the first time, we’re discovering small airways disease in this population of COVID-19 patients with persistent symptoms,” says Alejandro Comellas, MD, professor of internal medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine with University of Iowa Health Care. “Something is going on in the distal airways related to either inflammation or fibrosis that is giving us a signal of air trapping. We need to investigate further to see whether it is transient or more permanent.”
Researchers used specialized CT imaging taken after a patient exhales (expiratory CT scans) which showed physical changes in the small airways of patients affected by long COVID. These newly observed air-trapping abnormalities may explain some of the persistent breathing problems associated with long COVID.
Researchers say small airways disease is not fully understood, but evidence suggests it may be related to either inflammation or remodeling of the small airways that prevents small pockets of air from being exhaled from the lungs. Air trapping is a characteristic of other airway diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
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