Alveolar Nitric Oxide as a Biomarker of COVID-19 Lung Sequelae: A Pivotal Study

Alveolar Nitric Oxide as a Biomarker of COVID-19 Lung Sequelae: A Pivotal Study

Blog Article

Since SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019, strict monitoring of post-COVID-19 patients in order to ensure the early detection of sequelae and/or chronic organ damage that could been associated with the infection has been essential.Potential involvement of the NO pathway in the development of post-COVID-19 lung fibrotic alterations is feasible, since the majority of respiratory cells can produce NO, and fractional exhaled NO (FeNO) represents a biomarker of airway inflammation.The aim of this study was to investigate the potential utility of multiple-flow FeNO parameters in a post-COVID-19 population and to compare it with other indicators of lung damage proposed in 15-eg2373cl the literature.We enrolled 20 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, who underwent clinical, respiratory functional (including PFTs and FeNO) and radiological follow-up after discharge.

Compared with age- and sex-matched healthy controls, post-COVID-19 patients showed significantly higher FeNO 350 mL/s and CaNO levels.Moreover, among the parameters included in the follow-up, CaNO showed the best accuracy in indicating predominant fibrotic changes and GGO at CT scan.To our knowledge, this preliminary study has investigated for the first time multiple-flow FeNO parameters in a post-COVID-19 population.The evidence of increased CaNO values may imply the persistence of alveolar and bronchiolar inflammation and/or a mild impairment of equi-jec 7 the alveolar-capillary membrane in these patients.