Post COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis; a meta-analysis study
Abstract
Introduction; Pulmonary fibrosis is a frequently reported COVID-19 sequela in which the exact prevalence and risk factors are yet to be established. This meta-analysis aims to investigate the prevalence of post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis (PCPF) and the potential risk factors. Methods; CINAHL, PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases were searched to identify English language studies published up to December 3, 2021. Results; The systematic search initially revealed a total of 618 articles - of which only 13 studies reporting 2018 patients were included in this study. Among the patients, 1047 (51.9%) were male and 971 (48.1%) were female. The mean age was 54.5 years (15–94). The prevalence of PCPF was 44.9%. The mean age was 59 years in fibrotic patients and 48.5 years in non-fibrotic patients. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was the only comorbidity associated with PCPF. Fibrotic patients more commonly suffered from persistent symptoms of dyspnea, cough, chest pain, fatigue, and myalgia (p-value < 0.05). Factors related to COVID-19 severity that were associated with PCPF development included computed tomography score of ≥18, ICU admission, invasive/non-invasive mechanical ventilation, longer hospitalization period, and steroid, antibiotic and immunoglobulin treatments (p-value < 0.05). Parenchymal bands (284/341), ground-glass opacities (552/753), interlobular septal thickening (220/381), and consolidation (197/319) were the most common…
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