title: Follow-up after acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by influenza a (H1N1) virus infection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are no reports on the long-term follow-up of patients with swine-origin influenza A virus infection that progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four patients were prospectively followed up with pulmonary function tests and high-resolution computed tomography for six months after admission to an intensive care unit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pulmonary function test results assessed two months after admission to the intensive care unit showed reduced forced vital capacity in all patients and low diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide in two patients. At six months, pulmonary function test results were available for three patients. Two patients continued to have a restrictive pattern, and none of the patients presented with abnormal diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide. All of them had a diffuse ground-glass pattern on high-resolution computed tomography that improved after six months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the marked severity of lung disease at admission, patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by swine-origin influenza A virus infection presented a late but substantial recovery over six months of follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Division, InCor, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Brazil. toufenjr@ig.com.br
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toufen
authors.forename: Eduardo Leite V
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Adriana Sayuri
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hirota
authors.forename: Ho Yeh
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Marcelo Brito Passos
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.forename: Carlos Roberto Ribeiro
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Carvalho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000150:complications*; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed