MADISON, Wis – Shortness of breath and breathing problems are common symptoms of patients taking COVID-19. Jeffrey Kanne, head of thoracic imaging at UW Health, said that many people do not see is the long-term damage the virus can have on the lungs.
“The normal lung is mostly filled with air, so it will be black on our CT scans,” Kanne said. ‘Patients with COVID will have white or gray areas in their lungs, and very severe scars are from COVID. Smokers have various injuries, mostly due to emphysema, and this happens during many, many years of smoking. ”
Kanne said the scars of COVID disappear in most patients after a few months. However, there are a number of patients who deal with the damage in the long run.
“If you have scar tissue or inflammatory tissue in your lungs, it prevents oxygen from entering your bloodstream and can release carbon dioxide, which is why some patients with severe COVID need supplemental oxygen or need mechanical ventilation.”
Kanne said when someone catches COVID, the lungs become small and stiff, which explains why many experience shortness of breath. With smoke, the lungs expand and there is destruction in the lungs, including large holes. Kanne said smokers prevent the damage it causes to the lungs over many years. With COVID, the damage happens much faster.
For patients who are both smokers and test positive for COVID, Kanne said: ‘What lung they have left that is actually good, this is where most of the disease will be concentrated, so they have less reserve, so they are more likely to be sick, need hospitalization or even mechanical ventilation. ”
For those who have asthma, Kanne said it is not clear whether COVID could cause an asthma attack, but that it could certainly exacerbate an attack.
“If you already have an underlying lung disease and on top of that add another insult, the two can make breathing even more difficult.” he said.
Kanne said what we see in the scans of COVID lungs is similar to the damage he sees in patients who catch the flu.
“The lung can only respond to an insult in so many ways,” he said. “COVID has a much higher rate of this pattern than we see with flu.”
In the most severe cases of COVID, the patient may need oxygen for life or a lung transplant.
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