Review 10.1172/JCI149412

Distinctive features of severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia

G.R. Scott Budinger, Alexander V. Misharin, Karen M. Ridge, Benjamin D. Singer, and Richard G. Wunderink

Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Address correspondence to: G.R. Scott Budinger, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior Street, Simpson Querrey, 5th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. Phone: 312.908.8163; Email: s-buding@northwestern.edu.

Find articles by Budinger, G. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar |

Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Address correspondence to: G.R. Scott Budinger, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior Street, Simpson Querrey, 5th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. Phone: 312.908.8163; Email: s-buding@northwestern.edu.

Find articles by Misharin, A. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar |

Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Address correspondence to: G.R. Scott Budinger, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior Street, Simpson Querrey, 5th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. Phone: 312.908.8163; Email: s-buding@northwestern.edu.

Find articles by Ridge, K. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar |

Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Address correspondence to: G.R. Scott Budinger, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior Street, Simpson Querrey, 5th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. Phone: 312.908.8163; Email: s-buding@northwestern.edu.

Find articles by Singer, B. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar |

Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Address correspondence to: G.R. Scott Budinger, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior Street, Simpson Querrey, 5th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. Phone: 312.908.8163; Email: s-buding@northwestern.edu.

Find articles by Wunderink, R. in: JCI | PubMed | Google Scholar

Published July 15, 2021 - More info

Published in Volume 131, Issue 14 on July 15, 2021
J Clin Invest. 2021;131(14):e149412. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI149412.
© 2021 American Society for Clinical Investigation
Published July 15, 2021 - Version history
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is among the most important public health crises of our generation. Despite the promise of prevention offered by effective vaccines, patients with severe COVID-19 will continue to populate hospitals and intensive care units for the foreseeable future. The most common clinical presentation of severe COVID-19 is hypoxemia and respiratory failure, typical of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Whether the clinical features and pathobiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia differ from those of pneumonia secondary to other pathogens is unclear. This uncertainty has created variability in the application of historically proven therapies for ARDS to patients with COVID-19. We review the available literature and find many similarities between patients with ARDS from pneumonia attributable to SARS-CoV-2 versus other respiratory pathogens. A notable exception is the long duration of illness among patients with COVID-19, which could result from its unique pathobiology. Available data support the use of care pathways and therapies proven effective for patients with ARDS, while pointing to unique features that might be therapeutically targeted for patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.

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