Clinical, radiological, and transbronchial biopsy findings in patients with long COVID-19: a case series.
André Luis Pereira de AlbuquerqueAlexandre Todorovic FabroAndreia Craveiro FrancoMarília Helena C MachadoRobson Aparecido PrudenteEstefânia Aparecida Thomé FrancoSergio Ribeiro MarroneSimone Alves do ValeTalita Jacon CezareMarcelo Padovani de Toledo MoraesEloara Vieira Machado FerreiraAndré Luis Pereira de AlbuquerqueMarcio Valente Yamada SawamuraSuzana Erico TanniPublished in: Jornal brasileiro de pneumologia : publicacao oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisilogia (2022)
This brief communication demonstrates the correlation of persistent respiratory symptoms with functional, tomographic, and transbronchial pulmonary biopsy findings in patients with COVID-19 who had a long follow-up period. We report a series of six COVID-19 patients with pulmonary involvement who presented with persistent dyspnea within 4-15 months of discharge. We performed transbronchial biopsies, and the histopathological pattern consistently demonstrated peribronchial remodeling with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, lung biopsy may be useful in the approach of patients with long COVID-19, although the type of procedure, its precise indication, and the moment to perform it are yet to be clarified. (Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials-ReBEC; identifier: RBR-8j9kqy [http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br]).