Abstract Purpose This study seeks to establish whether patients who are up to 5 years after recovery from acute Covid-19 infection continue to have deficits in pulmonary function. Methods Sixteen medical students ages 24 to 30 who had their initial infection with Covid on average 29 months ago completed office pulmonary function tests using the NDD EasyOne Air Spirometer. Patients completed a six minute walk test and rated their perception of exertion on the Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale. Conclusion In this study, 5 patients who had their first episode of Covid-19 infection more than 3 years ago still had FEF 25-75 below 80 percent of the predicted value. This persistent deficit in pulmonary function more than 3 years after acute Covid infection probably corresponds to published histologic changes of the bronchioles Clinical Implications: Fibrotic change of the 2 millimeter small airways may persist despite recovery of DLCO which reflects healing of the alveolar tissue. The 2 millimeter small airways are a different type of tissue. Both Omicron, Delta, and patients infected with newer variants of Covid may have Covid virions identified in the small airways. Delta affected the alveoli, but the newer variants often do not affect the alveoli but do affect the small airways. This persistent fibrosis of the small airways may account for the persistent reduced FEF 25-75. Covid induces a unique profile of gene expression that may account for these changes in the small airways. All patients walked at least 1300 feet on the six minute walk test and had Bjorg scores of 0 to 2, indicating that they did not have grave clinical impairment. This abstract is funded by: None
E Copen (2026) studied this question.