Impact of Dexamethasone on Respiratory Sequelae in the Follow-Up of Hospitalized Patients with Sars-Cov-2 Pneumonia

Introduction: Dexamethasone has been shown to reduce 28-day mortality in COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen, but its effect on long-term pulmonary complications remains unclear. This study aimed to assess whether treatment with dexamethasone in the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia improves post-COVID clinical outcomes. Methods: This longitudinal retrospective study analysed patients hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia between March 2020 and April 2021. Patients were stratified according to dexamethasone treatment during hospitalization. They were evaluated 3-9 months post- discharge using clinical assessments, pulmonary function tests, and imaging studies. We compared the demographic, clinical, and functional characteristics according to dexamethasone treatment. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the association between dexamethasone and main outcome follow-up variables. Results: In a study of 1,011 patients hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, 663 received dexamethasone treatment while 348 did not. During post-COVID follow-up, dexamethasone-treated patients reported less dyspnea (28.4% vs 37.6%, p=0.003); showed better lung function, particularly in DLCO (76.9% vs 69.9%, p