COVID-19-related symptoms continued to trouble nearly half of the participants in a new study of recovered healthcare workers. Lung function tests may be useful in the decision to return to work, and should be received regularly after workers with lingering issues are back on the job, investigators say.
The researchers examined pulmonary function in 53 hospital workers in Turkey who had persistent complaints after returning to work after a bout with COVID-19. The mean time of return to work was 18 days after a positive COVID-19 test (plus or minus 13 days).
Fully 47% of the study participants had ongoing COVID-19-related health issues at three months, the researchers reported. These included shortness of breath and labored breathing (25%), weakness (9.5%) and muscle aches (8%). Many showed low levels of lung function in standardized tests and Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) of exercise function.
Varied tests performed using a standard spirometer revealed the potential for underlying lung issues. Measures of pulmonary function using the DLCO test, which can signal a range of lung problems, were abnormally low in 40% of the cases. Workers with low DLCO scores were also more likely to take longer to return to work than those who didn’t receive low scores on this test.
Notably, 22% of the study participants were smokers, 36% had comorbidities and nine workers had been hospitalized with COVID-19. But a comparison of cases with and without lower DLCO levels found no significant difference among the participants in terms of smoking status, comorbidities, severity of disease or treatment location.
Ongoing screening needed
The study results supported that of prior research on lasting COVID-19 symptoms, and underscore the need for long-term followup in workers with ongoing complaints, the investigators wrote in the American Journal of Infection Control.
“Although the majority of patients did not have respiratory symptoms, lower DLCO levels suggested that a pulmonary function screening be performed upon return to work and at regular intervals,” wrote lead author Öner Abidin Balbay, of the Department of Chest Diseases at the Duzce University Faculty of Medicine in Turkey.
In particular, 6MWT and DLCO measurements may help workers decide when to return to work if they are experiencing ongoing symptoms, he and his colleagues said.
“[T]o ensure uninterrupted healthcare services, one of the top priorities in the fight against the pandemic is to protect healthcare professionals,” they concluded.
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