Childhood long COVID might be caused by lower blood flow in lungs, scans suggest

Medical Xpress February 26, 2025
Dennis Thompson

Children and teens with long COVID appear to have significantly reduced blood flow through their lungs, researchers reported in the journal Radiology.

This could cause fatigue—one of the more common symptoms of long COVID in children—due to lower levels of oxygen distributed throughout the body via the bloodstream, researchers said.

The study’s results might explain why kids with normal breathing still suffer from fatigue related to long COVID, researchers said.

“Parents should understand that their children’s persistent symptoms after COVID-19 may have a measurable physiological basis, even when standard medical tests appear normal,” lead researcher Dr. Gesa Pöhler, a senior physician of diagnostic and interventional radiology at Hannover Medical School in Germany, said in a news release.