{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T09:03:19Z","timestamp":1785402199546,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,14]],"date-time":"2026-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781395200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Institute of the Polish Mother\u2019s Health Center in Lodz","award":["2021.1\/4\/3-GW"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021.1\/4\/3-GW"]}]},{"award":["2021.1\/4\/3-GW"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2021.1\/4\/3-GW"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03rybz620","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: More than 750 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide. The respiratory system, particularly the lungs, is one of the main targets of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although persistent pulmonary function abnormalities have been described in adults, evidence in pediatric populations remains limited and inconsistent. Children usually experience a milder course of COVID-19; however, the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on respiratory function in this group is still unclear. Current studies report conflicting findings regarding persistent spirometric abnormalities and their relationship with disease severity and time since infection. Therefore, further research is needed to better characterize post-infectious respiratory sequelae in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to evaluate spirometric abnormalities in a pediatric cohort following COVID-19 infection. Methods: This retrospective and prospective observational study included 109 children and adolescents aged 6\u201318 years with a history of asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic, or symptomatic COVID-19 infection. Spirometry was performed following recovery from infection, and pulmonary function parameters were analyzed according to clinical course and time since infection. Results: Spirometry was conducted at a mean of 4.3 \u00b1 2.8 months after infection. Abnormalities in pulmonary function were identified in 23.85% of the study population, with reduced FVC being the predominant spirometric abnormality. No statistically significant association was observed between the severity of COVID-19 and spirometric impairments (p &gt; 0.5). Abnormal spirometry findings were observed across all post-infection time intervals examined; however, no statistically significant differences were identified between the groups. Conclusions: Spirometric abnormalities, predominantly reduced FVC, were observed in a substantial proportion of pediatric patients following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although no clinical predictors were identified, the absence of pre-infection measurements and a control group limits interpretation. Longitudinal studies are required to clarify the clinical relevance and persistence of these pulmonary function changes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15124624","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,15]],"date-time":"2026-06-15T08:57:58Z","timestamp":1781513878000},"page":"4624","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Evaluation of Pulmonary Functional Complications After COVID-19 Infection in Children: A Retrospective and Prospective, Observational Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Bare\u0142a","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Immunology and Nephrology, Institute of the Polish Mother\u2019s Health Center in Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agnieszka","family":"Blomberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Immunology and Nephrology, Institute of the Polish Mother\u2019s Health Center in Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Nephrology and Immunology, Medical University of Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aleksandra","family":"Filipczak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Immunology and Nephrology, Institute of the Polish Mother\u2019s Health Center in Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Nephrology and Immunology, Medical University of Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jerzy","family":"Arendarczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Immunology and Nephrology, Institute of the Polish Mother\u2019s Health Center in Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Nephrology and Immunology, Medical University of Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9325-7304","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Oskar","family":"Sylwestrzak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Institute of the Polish Mother\u2019s Health Center in Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Krzysztof","family":"Zeman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Immunology and Nephrology, Institute of the Polish Mother\u2019s Health Center in Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Nephrology and Immunology, Medical University of Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1753-7560","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marcin","family":"Tkaczyk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Immunology and Nephrology, Institute of the Polish Mother\u2019s Health Center in Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Nephrology and Immunology, Medical University of Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1071","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaci.2024.11.012","article-title":"Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children: Evolving epidemiology, immunology, symptoms, diagnostics, treatment, post\u2013COVID-19 conditions, prevention strategies, and future directions","volume":"155","author":"Wurm","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. 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