Functional Changes of the Respiratory System in Children During the Post-COVID Period

Abstract

The long-term effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on paediatric health is an issue of growing concern, especially the possible occurrence of functional alterations of the respiratory system. Although children tend to have mild forms of acute cases of COVID-19, observations from clinical records of children suggest that recovery is not always synonymous with normalisation of function. In the post-COVID period, there are still several children who report respiratory complaints and raise the question of persistent functional impairment. This prospective, observational study was carried out at the clinic of Tashkent State Medical University between 2023 and December 2025, including 74 children with a confirmed history of getting infected with the novel coronavirus. All patients were assessed in the post-COV19 period by means of clinical assessment and age-appropriate respiratory functional assessment techniques. The purpose of the study was to detect and characterise functional alterations of the respiratory system after recovering from the coronavirus (Covid-19). The results showed that a significant percentage of children showed measurable respiratory function abnormalities in spite of clinical recovery from the acute infection. Obstructive, restrictive and mixed functional patterns were found, while a large number of children also complained of decreased exercise tolerance, shortness of breath during exercise or ongoing fatigue. Importantly, the functional changes were seen not only in those children who had moderate disease from the Covid-19 infection but also in those children who had initially mild disease. In some cases, objective abnormalities were found in children with little or nonspecific symptoms.