MADISON, Wis. – Shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing are common symptoms of patients who contract COVID-19. UW Health chief of chest imaging Jeffrey Kanne said that something that many people miss is the long-term damage that the virus can cause to the lungs.
“The normal lung is almost full of air, so it will be black on our scans,” said Kanne. “COVID patients will have white or gray areas in their lungs, lungs with very severe scarring, all caused by COVID. Smokers have a variety of different injuries, mainly from emphysema and this happens over many, many years of smoking. “
Kanne said the COVID scar disappears in most patients after a few months. However, there are several patients who deal with long-term damage.
“When you have scar tissue or inflammatory tissue in your lungs, it prevents oxygen from entering the blood and carbon dioxide from flowing out, which is why some patients with severe COVID require supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation.”
Kanne said that when someone contracts COVID, their lungs become small and stiff, which explains why many feel short of breath. With smoke, the lungs expand and there is destruction in the lungs, including large orifices. Kanne said that for smokers, the damage it causes to the lungs happens over many years. With COVID, the damage happens much faster.
For patients who are smokers and test positive for COVID, Kanne said: “The lung that they have left is really good, is where most of the disease would be concentrated so that they have less reserve, so they are more likely to get sick, require hospitalization or even mechanical ventilation. ”
For those with asthma, Kanne said it is not clear whether COVID can trigger an asthma attack, but it certainly can make an attack worse.
“If you already have an underlying lung disease and add another insult on top of that, both can make breathing even more difficult.” he said.
Kanne said what we see in the images of COVID’s lungs is similar to the damage he sees in patients who get the flu.
“The lung can only respond to an insult in many ways,” he said. “COVID has a much higher rate of this pattern than what we see with the flu.”
In the most severe cases of COVID, the patient may be receiving oxygen for life or need a lung transplant.
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