Researchers have identified abnormalities in the lungs of long COVID patients with breathlessness but whose other tests are normal.
The EXPLAIN study is using hyperpolarised xenon MRI scans to investigate possible lung damage in long COVID patients who experience breathlessness and were not hospitalised when they had COVID-19.
These early results suggest that COVID-19 may result in persistent impairment in gas transfer and underlying lung abnormalities. However, the extent to which these abnormalities contribute to breathlessness is currently unclear.
