Advanced MRI shows decreased lung function in kids with persistent COVID symptoms
New research findings may help explain why children recovering from COVID-19 continue to struggle with lingering fatigue.
Using an advanced imaging technique known as phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI, experts were able to identify signs of reduced blood flow in the lungs of children who were suffering from symptoms of long COVID-19 months after recovering from their initial infection. They shared their findings in a new paper in the journal Radiology.
“Our research provides the first comprehensive evidence of measurable regional lung perfusion abnormalities in pediatric post-COVID-19 condition using radiation-free, contrast-free lung imaging,” lead study author Gesa H. Pöhler, MD, a senior physician in the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Hannover Medical School in Germany, noted.
Research into long COVID often involves CT imaging of the chest, but these exams are not routinely utilized in the pediatric population due to radiation exposure. Instead, kids whose COVID symptoms continue beyond recovery often undergo pulmonary function tests and echocardiography exams. Though effective to a certain extent, these assessments do not provide a great deal of insight into the physiological mechanisms that underlie lingering fatigue and respiratory issues associated with COVID.
PREFUL MRI scans, however, allow providers to visualize patients’ lung ventilation and perfusion. Researchers utilized the exams on a group of 54 children ages 11 to 17 between April 2022 and 2023 to assess for signs of post-COVID lung damage. Participants included both kids with long COVID and healthy controls.
Researchers observed significant differences between the groups, with the COVID participants showing decreased regional ventilation and quantified perfusion. The alterations were most notable in the participants who reported more severe fatigue. Reduced air movement to the lungs also was common in individuals who reported persistent shortness of breath.
“Parents should understand that their children’s persistent symptoms after COVID-19 may have a measurable physiological basis, even when standard medical tests appear normal,” Pöhler said. “Quantitative lung MRI establishes a potential imaging biomarker profiling and helps to enable disease severity follow-up for this complex condition in the future.”
The group suggested that their findings warrant prolonged follow-up in children who continue to struggle with shortness of breath and fatigue after recovering from COVID.
Learn more about the findings here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.