Background. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remains one of the urgent problems and during the third wave of the pandemic the disease took a more aggressive course. Physicians pay attention to the occurrence of progressive lung degradation, in particular, bullous-emphysematous changes or vanishing lung syndrome (VLS).
Aim: to investigate the frequency, impact of concomitant diseases, age and sex characteristics on the development of the VLS in patients (pts) with COVID-19 pneumonia.
Methods. 90 pts (56 (62.2%) men aged 18 to 80 (55.7±1.5) years who suffered pneumonia during the acute period of COVID-19 were examined. In the post-COVID period all pts underwent CT scan of the chest in the disease dynamics.
Results. It was established that the frequency of occurrence of the syndrome of disappearing lungs reaches 26.7% (in 24 pts out of 90). Characteristics of pts and assessment of risk factors are shown in Table.
| Parameter | Patients with VLS, n=24 | Patients without VLS, n=66 | Odds ratio (95% confidence interval) | p value |
| Age, years | 59.2±2.7 | 54.5±1.8 | ? | ? |
| Age 65-69 years, n (%) | 6 (25%) | 5 (7.6%) | 4.07 (1.11?14.89) | 0.0342 |
| Sex, male, n (%) | 16 (66.7%) | 40 (60.6%) | 1.3 (0.49?3.47) | 0.524 |
| Hospital treatment need in acute COVID-19, n (%) | 22 (91.7%) | 42 (63.6%) | 6.29 (1.36?29.09) | 0.0187 |
| Concomitant cardio vascular diseases, n (%) | 14 (58.3%) | 30 (45.5%) | 1.68 (0.65?4.32) | 0.282 |
| Concomitant diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 6 (25%) | 5 (7.6%) | 4.07 (1.11?14.89) | 0.0342 |
Conclusion. Almost a quarter of pts with a complicated course of COVID-19 pneumonia may develop the VLS. Risk factors for vanishing lung syndrome are a severe course of the disease with the need for hospitalization, concomitant diabetes and age from 65 to 69 years.