United States: Lungs’ blood flow issues function as potential sources that underlie long COVID in children, according to MRI scans using advanced techniques.
New Study Highlights Physiological Basis for Fatigue and Other Symptoms
A study in Radiology shows that children and teens who have long COVID suffer from severe blood flow restrictions in their lungs, as reported by HealthDay.
Lower oxygen delivery throughout the body through the bloodstream leads to fatigue, according to researchers, and could be the cause of one of the major long COVID symptoms in children.
Research data can explain fatigue symptoms experienced by children with long COVID despite normal respiratory capacity, according to scientists.
Blood Flow Restrictions Linked to Fatigue
“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,” lead researcher Dr. Gesa Pöhler, a senior physician of diagnostic and interventional radiology at Hannover Medical School in Germany, said in a news release.
The symptoms of long-term COVID appear multiple weeks following initial COVID-19 illness in patients. The symptoms continue to affect patients during periods that extend beyond months and into years of delayed COVID-19 recovery.
Researchers in background notes describe long-term COVID symptoms in children as chronic fatigue combined with shortness of breath, headache and heart palpitations, and poor concentration.
Innovative Imaging Technique Used
The research team employed phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI as their imaging scan for the study.
The MRI technique allows researchers to monitor both lung air movement and bloodstream transportation.
The medical reluctance to perform CT scans on children stems from radiation concerns affecting adults with long-term COVID disease who get tested through chest CT imaging. Researchers explained these perspectives.
The method of MRI scanning, which uses magnetic waves, enables free-breathing examinations, making it ideal for child-based procedures, according to researchers.
Study Findings: Blood Flow Changes Tied to Fatigue
The PREFUL MRI study evaluated 54 patients who ranged in age from 11 to 17 years old. The study divided participants into two groups, with half receiving a long COVID diagnosis and the other half qualifying as healthy individuals.
Results indicate that compared to normal children and teens, those with long COVID experienced less blood flow passing through their lungs.
Every person with long COVID except a single patient reported severe tiredness as their main symptom.
“Importantly, the severity of fatigue symptoms correlated with these blood flow changes, suggesting a possible biological basis for the patient’s ongoing symptoms,” Pohler said.
Potential for Long-Term Impacts and Future Research
Studies have previously documented this decreased lung blood flow in adult subjects, according to research reports.
Scientists believe that COVID virus exposure leads to permanent damage to small lung blood vessels, which results in reduced blood flow, as reported by HealthDay.
Future child-long COVID monitoring and treatment plans could benefit from this imaging method, according to researchers studying the topic.