Background: There could be substantial fibrotic consequences following COVID-19 named pulmonary fibrosis (PF), which is a progressive lung disease results in thickened and stiff lung tissues, impairing lung function. High-resolution CT scans are used to diagnose PF by revealing damage and scarring in the lungs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of PF among patients who have recovered from COVID-19 in hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, analyzed 3,150 COVID-19 subjects from March 2020 to January 2024, with 342 subjects undergoing CT scans. Chi-square analysis assessed factors influencing PF development, with significance set at P .05) Conclusions: The findings suggest that there is an association between the existence of PF after COVID-19 and radiological features in the CT scan. In addition, there is an association between decreased ICU stay and the occurrence of PF after COVID-19. The strength of this study is the good quality of the data because of the high accuracy and efficiency of the BESTCARE system. On the other hand, the weakness of this study is that the results cannot be generalized because it was conducted in one hospital only. Future studies should include subjects from different hospitals and a wider geographical area to generalize the results.
Bugis et al. (Tue,) studied this question.