LONDON : Lung abnormalities have been discovered in long Covid patients suffering from breathlessness, according to a study that raises the possibility that coronavirus may cause hidden damage to the lungs that is not detected with routine tests.
Researchers used a novel xenon gas scan method to pick up lung abnormalities in coronavirus patients who have not been hospitalised but still experience breathlessness.
Breathlessness is a symptom in most long Covid patients, but it has been unclear whether this is linked to other factors such as changes in breathing patterns, tiredness, or something more fundamental.
The Explain study, a pilot study involving 36 patients, suggests there is significantly impaired gas transfer in the lungs to the bloodstream in long COVID patients - despite other tests including CT scans coming back normal. "We knew from our post-hospital COVID study that xenon could detect abnormalities when the CT scan and other lung function tests are normal.