A study by Spanish scientists shows that more than one in five patients treated in intensive care units for COVID-19 suffer from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
The study was conducted by a team of pulmonologists from the Institute of Medical Research at the Clinical Hospital of Valencia (Incliva). Researchers indicated that COVID-19 survivors who developed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis previously developed pneumonia.
"Patients had severe or moderate incidence," Incliva researchers stated in their release, noting that the presence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was confirmed by CT scans.
According to a study in which several thousand cases of COVID-19-related pneumonia in Spain were analyzed, half a year after leaving hospital, half of the patients suffer from impaired ability to diffuse gases in the lungs.
The authors of the study explained that the condition often manifests itself as dyspnea following COVID-19 and occurs mainly in people undergoing treatment in intensive care units.
The estimates of Incliva pulmonologists show that currently up to 12,000 people can live in Spain. people suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
The study, conducted in collaboration with several research centers in Spain, was conducted between May 2022 and June 2022. Scientists have announced that it will be continued until at least December 2022.