Spontaneous Pneumothorax and Pneumomediastinum in Covid-19 Pneumonia

Abstract

Fifteen to twelve percent of COVID-19 patients who had mild to severe semptoms were hospitalized. Most of hospitalized patients had respiratory failure and admitted to the intensive care unit with the diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Pneumothorax (PX) and pneumomediastinum (PM) which can be seen as travmatic or spontaneous in intensive care unit (ICU) patients have a higher incidence in COVID-19 patients. Patients that admitted to ICU between April 2020 and November 2021, were reviewed for development of pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema retrospectively. There was 13 patients who were developed these conditions in the study period. Five of them was male and median age for all patients was 62. Eight of them were intubated and mechanically ventilated. Only two of them discharged from ICU. The most common reason for death was sepsis due to secondary infections. Patients followed with physical examination, chest XR and computerized tomography (CT) if needed. Acute deterioation, increased oxygen demand and crepitation in the physical examination should be alarming findings in COVID-19 patients for PX and PM. Early management of these symptoms can be life saving.