CT abnormalities 3 and 12 months after hospitalization for COVID-19 and association with disease severity: A prospective cohort study.

Abstract

ObjectivesTo investigate changes in chest CT between 3 and 12 months and associations with disease severity in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 during the first wave in 2020.Materials and methodsLongitudinal cohort study of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in 2020. Chest CT was performed 3 and 12 months after admission. CT images were evaluated using a CT severity score (CSS) (0-12 scale) and recoded to an abbreviated version (0-3 scale). We analyzed determinants of the abbreviated CSS with multivariable mixed effects ordinal regression.Results242 patients completed CT at 3 months, and 124 (mean age 62.3±13.3, 78 men) also at 12 months. Between 3 and 12 months (n = 124) CSS (0-12 scale) for ground-glass opacities (GGO) decreased from median 3 (25th-75th percentile: 0-12) at 3 months to 0.5 (0-12) at 12 months (pConclusionsGGO and mosaicism decreased, while parenchymal bands increased from 3 to 12 months. Persistent GGO were associated with initial COVID-19 severity and age ≥60 years.