It is pointed out that a deep scar remains in the lung even after recovering from a new type coronavirus infection

A doctor who has examined many patients with mild to severe newborn coronavirus infection (COVID-19) reported a case where `` the lung of a healthy former patient who recovered from COVID-19 was irreversibly damaged '' Did.

Uni-Klinik Innsbruck: irreversible lung damage in corona patients | En24 News

Frank Hartich, senior doctor at Innsbruck University Hospital in Austria, has seen many COVID-19 patients, from asymptomatic people to those in the intensive care unit, as head of the department's emergency department. . There were six active divers among them, all returned to their homes as they were judged 'no hospital treatment required' and recovered after several weeks of self-isolation. All the divers that Hartich and his colleagues followed up after recovery were in good health, except for a decrease in coughing and diving performance.

So when Hartich examined the lungs of the diver with a CT scan, he found surprising results. First of all, the lungs of 2 out of 6 people had a large decline in function, and oxygen in the blood began to drop immediately when a load was applied. We also observed some of the symptoms seen in patients with asthma. Changes in the lungs were also seen for the remaining four divers.

About this result, Hartig says, 'I am an emergency doctor with 20 years of experience, but I lost words when I saw the lungs of a young person in this state. I confused the results of the CT scan. I even wondered why I had to do another x-ray. '' It's shocking and I don't understand what's going on. They are probably lifelong patients, and they have regular diagnoses. I'm in the condition I should have, and of course I can no longer dive. '

According to Hartich, the extent to which the long-term effects of COVID-19 remain will be uncertain at this point. However, the divers who recovered from COVID-19 had so bad a diagnosis that it was 'hard to think of a complete recovery,' Hartig said.

It is unknown why the lungs of people whose symptoms were so mild that they were judged not to need hospitalization were severely damaged, but some medical personnel said, `` People who used a ventilator suddenly became ill. It may have something to do with that. ' In Italy, for example, there were cases of deaths of many patients who used mechanical ventilation. Therefore, it is said that attempts are being made to delay the use of ventilators as much as possible in the American medical field.

Similar phenomena to Italy have been observed in the hospital where Mr. Hartich works. 'Inhaling oxygen in people with low oxygen levels in the blood will alleviate the symptoms, but after a few hours, many patients will have severe lung failure and enter the intensive care unit,' Hartich said. Said.

From these experiences, Mr. Hartich and others seem to feel that 'oxygen may have triggered something.' For example, a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen called Nitrox has been used among divers. It's used to restore lowered oxygen levels and extend dive time, according to Hartich: 'If the lung tissue is still sensitive to oxygen, it can be dangerous. There is '.

It is not known if the six divers mentioned above did diving with Nitrox or oxygen cylinders after recovery, but Mr. Hartich commented that 'oxygen may have the opposite effect'.

Hartich said in a report published in a magazine for divers, `` People who have recovered from COVID-19 have specialized in diving, even if they have only mild illness or pass the test of diving after recovery. You should have your doctor do a thorough examination, 'he warned those concerned. Even if you are not a diver, those who have recovered from COVID-19 should refrain from training in sports in the summer until the damage to your lungs becomes apparent.