A study reveals the secret of difficulty breathing in Covid patients

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Elaf from Beirut: A new study concluded that there are abnormalities in the lungs of Covid patients who suffer from long-term shortness of breath following being infected with the Corona virus.

According to the British newspaper, “The Guardian”, the coronavirus can cause microscopic damage to the lungs that cannot be detected using routine examinations.

And 400 people from Covid patients who had long-term symptoms and had previously had a computerized tomography (CT) scan participated in this study, in addition to people who were exposed to the virus but did not have long-term symptoms, and other health monitoring groups.

During the latest study, participants underwent specialized magnetic resonance imaging, in which patients breathe xenon gas while lying inside an imaging tube. The gas can be traced as it travels from the lungs into the bloodstream, giving a reading of how the lungs are working.

This technique differs from a computerized tomography (CT) scan, which shows only the structure of the lungs.

Lung health affected

Preliminary results showed that there was a “significant impairment of gas transport” from the lungs to the bloodstream in Covid patients who had long-term symptoms, even when pre-examinations were normal.

Similar abnormalities have also been found in Covid patients who are hospitalized with more severe symptoms when infected with the virus.

According to Dr Emily Fraser, a consultant at Oxford University Hospitals and co-author of the study, the latest findings are the first evidence that basic lung health can be affected by infection with the coronavirus.

“It is the first study to show lung abnormalities in (people with long-term Covid virus) who have shortness of breath and where other tests are unremarkable,” Fraser said.

And she continued, “It really indicates that the virus causes a kind of continuous disorder within the microstructure of the lungs or in the pulmonary blood vessels.”

She added that more work will be needed to clarify the significance of these findings, including how the apparent abnormalities relate to shortness of breath.