Term ‘post-COVID-19 residual lung abnormality’ should be used instead of ‘interstitial lung abnormality’ for describing post-COVID-19 abnormalities<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
FRIDAY, July 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) — In an international multisociety consensus statement, published online July 22 in Radiology, <\/em>recommendations are presented for computed tomography (CT) imaging in patients with residual lung abnormalities after COVID-19 respiratory infection.<\/p>\n Noting that residual lung abnormalities on CT scans after COVID-19 respiratory infection have been described using various terms, Soon Ho Yoon, M.D., Ph.D., from the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea, and colleagues developed a multisociety consensus statement to standardize the indication, acquisition, and reporting of post-COVID-19 residual lung abnormalities on CT scans.<\/p>\n The recommendations include use of chest CT in patients with persistent or progressive respiratory symptoms at three months after infection, use of low-dose CT protocols for follow-up CT examinations, use of radiological descriptors from the Fleischner Society glossary of terms, and avoidance of the term “interstitial lung abnormality” for description of post-COVID-19 abnormalities. The term “post-COVID-19 residual lung abnormality” should be used to prevent misinterpretation of post-COVID-19 abnormalities as an early manifestation of interstitial lung disease.<\/p>\n “These statements recommend employing terms from the Fleischner Society Glossary to describe CT findings consistently and precisely, avoiding the use of ‘interstitial lung abnormality,’ which refers to a different clinical context,” coauthor Anna Rita Larici, M.D., from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Rome, said in a statement. “In addition, we have coined and recommended the term ‘post-COVID-19 residual lung abnormality’ to prevent any misleading term when describing CT lung abnormalities following COVID-19 pneumonia.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical, medical device, and other industries.<\/p>\n