Spontaneous Pneumothorax as a Complication of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Case Report

Abstract

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. It typically presents with respiratory symptoms such as fevers, cough, and shortness of breath. As the number of cases increases, however, COVID-19 is being increasingly recognized as being associated with a variety of other respiratory pathologies. Case Report: We present the case of a 59-year-old man with COVID-19 pneumonia who acutely decompensated after having been on the medicine floor for two weeks. He was found to have a tension pneumothorax. This was treated with a needle decompression followed by a chest tube insertion. The patient subsequently recovered and was discharged. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of considering tension pneumothorax as a possible cause of shortness of breath in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.

Spontaneous tension pneumothorax as a complication of Coronavirus disease 2019: Case report and literature review

“…However, there are multiple reports of patients with only an acute respiratory insult due to COVID‐19 infection, who developed STP without any other risk factors. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 24 It is imperative to identify the signs and symptoms of STP, especially in the setting of an ongoing respiratory infection, as sometimes the clinical features can overlap and may cause diagnostic and management delays. Clinical features of STP range from common findings such as dyspnea, chest pain, tachycardia to rare features such as cyanosis, epigastric pain, and unconsciousness.…”

“…STP is a reversible cause of shortness of breath; however, if left untreated, it can be fatal. 12 Hence, all efforts should be placed to timely diagnose and manage these cases amid a continued pandemic.…”

“…These studies will also help generate other valuable information concerning the severity of lung involvement in such patients, duration of the pneumothorax and management of COVID‐19 in the context of STP. STP is a reversible cause of shortness of breath; however, if left untreated, it can be fatal 12 . Hence, all efforts should be placed to timely diagnose and manage these cases amid a continued pandemic.…”

“… 4 Multiple cases of COVID‐19 infection complicated with the development of STP have been reported till date. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 This emerging complication of COVID‐19 infection seems to have significant mortality. In addition, the diagnosis can be challenging given that COVID‐19 infection may mask the symptoms of STP, as both may have similar symptomatology.…”

Pneumothorax due to COVID-19: Analysis of case reports

“…1 ). Articles and case descriptions with as much information as possible were selected for analysis; therefore, not all case studies were selected [ [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , [58] , [59] , [60] , [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] ...…”