Acquired tracheomalacia due to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Several studies mentioned parenchymal findings after SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, but few studies have mentioned alterations in the airways. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of tracheomalacia and to analyse the clinical characteristics in a cohort of patients with SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: The study population consisted of all patients with SARS-CoV-2 admitted a hospital serving a population of 500 000 inhabitants. Patients were visited between 2 and 6 months after hospital discharge. In this visit, all patients were subjected to an exhaustive clinical questionnaire and underwent clinical examination, pulmonary function tests and chest CT. RESULTS: From February 2020 to August 2021, 1920 patients were included in the cohort and tracheomalacia was observed in 15 (0.8%) on expiratory HRCT imaging. All patients with tracheomalacia also presented ground glass opacities in the CT scan and 12 patients had airway sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: Tracheomalacia is an exceptional sequela of SARS-CoV-2 survivors.