Week 11 - Entry 1

 Lung Abnormalities After One Year in Individuals Who Survived Covid 19:

    The topic of this blog post will be a recent study published by the University of Minnesota concerning the lung abnormalities after one year in individuals who survived Covid 19 pneumonia. 

    The researchers used computed tomography imaging to assess the lung abnormalities in the observed individuals. It was found that 54% of the individuals observed had lung abnormalities after one year of symptom onset. 34% of patients experienced patterns of subtle subpleural reticulation or ground-glass opacities, or both. 20% had extensive ground-glass opacities, reticulations, bronchial dilation, and microsystic changes. 

    The researchers also note that lung abnormalities were much more prevalent in individuals who are over the age of 60, had a severe case of Covid 19, or those who were male. Patients were scanned again six months after the initial research, and it was found that 44% of the patients who had lung abnormalities after one year of symptom onset had experienced complete resolution of their computed tomography abnormalities. The other 63% of patients saw no further improvement. 

    The researchers note that the results of this study reinforce what many in the field of radiology had already observed. Severe cases of Covid 19, or cases observed in the elderly often cause long term damage to the respiratory system, even if patients survive the initial infection.