View Score: An early warning score to detect possible complications among COVID-19 patients.

INTRODUCTION

Understanding pulmonary function at various phases after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is critical for determining the exact pathophysiological mechanism of COVID-19.

RESEARCH QUESTION

What is the correlation between spirometry indices and clinical indicators in COVID-19 patients over a 6-week follow-up?

OBJECTIVES

1. To assess deterioration or improvement in spirometry parameters including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV), and ratio FEV/FVC in COVID-19 patients. 2) To study the correlation between FVC, FEV, and FEV/FVC with oxygen saturation and clinical findings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A prospective observational study was conducted for a 6-week period among 25, COVID-19 patients who were either asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. Each patient received a home-use-connected spirometer-SpiroPRO, a pulse oximeter, and a thermometer from Briota Technologies Pvt Ltd. (BRIOTA). Patients and healthcare professionals were given training for performing spirometry twice a day as well as access to mobile apps was provided. Spirometry indices, patient symptoms, and vital statistics were used to calculate the VIEW™ score using machine learning algorithms.

RESULT

The Bland-Altman plots showed that FEV reduced slightly up to 21-28 days and comes back to normal around 42 days. VIEW™ score increased up to and then decreased toward . An increase in VIEW™ score increases the risk of COVID-19 complications. VIEW™ score and FEV showed a significant correlation.

CONCLUSION

Home-based spirometry acts as an effective tool for COVID-19 patients to predict lung complications and also promote self-monitoring thereby reducing the burden on the health system.