BACKGROUND AND AIM: The long-term outcome of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) is unclear. We investigated the effect of COVID-19 on lung structure, pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and quality of life in patients discharged from ICU and medical wards.

METHODS: A prospective single-center study was conducted on COVID-19 patients dis-charged from University of Health Sciences, Dr. Suat Seren Chest Disease and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital between March 19 and September 1, 2020. Patients who were followed up for more than 48 h in ICU and more than 72 h in medical wards were included in the study. Computed tomography (CT) scores, pulmonary function tests, 6-min walking distance, and health-related quality of life were compared between ICU and medical ward patients 6 months after discharge.

RESULTS: A total of 70 patients were included in the final analyses, and 31 of them were discharged from ICU. ICU patients had higher CT scores than non-ICU patients at admission (17 vs 11) and follow-up visits (6 vs 0). Two-thirds of ICU patients had at least one abnormal finding on a follow-up CT. Advanced age (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.02–1.15) and higher CT score at admission (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01–1.27) were risk factors for having radiological abnormalities on the follow-up CT. Of the patients discharged from ICU, 90% had at least one persistent symptom.

CONCLUSIONS: Many COVID-19 survivors, especially those with severe diseases, could not fully recover even after 6 months after their discharge from the hospital.