Spontaneous pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema in COVID-19 pneumonia: a rare case and literature review

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema in COVID-19 pneumonia: a rare case and literature review

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) and pneumothorax (PNX) unrelated to positive pressure ventilation has been recently reported as an unusual complication in cases of severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The presumed pathophysiological mechanism is diffuse alveolar injury leading to alveolar rupture and air...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ case reports Vol. 13; no. 12; p. e239489
Main Authors: Elhakim, Tarig Sami, Abdul, Haleem S, Pelaez Romero, Carlos, Rodriguez-Fuentes, Yoandy
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 12-12-2020
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
BMJ Publishing Group
Subjects:
Case Report
Case reports
Connective tissue
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - complications
COVID-19 - diagnostic imaging
Disease transmission
Emphysema
Humans
infectious diseases
Literature reviews
Male
Mediastinal Emphysema - virology
Medical imaging
Middle Aged
Pathology
pneumomediastinum
Pneumonia
pneumonia (infectious disease)
Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax - virology
respiratory medicine
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Subcutaneous Emphysema - virology
Thoracic surgery
X-rays
pneumonia (infectious disease)
respiratory medicine
pneumomediastinum
infectious diseases
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) and pneumothorax (PNX) unrelated to positive pressure ventilation has been recently reported as an unusual complication in cases of severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The presumed pathophysiological mechanism is diffuse alveolar injury leading to alveolar rupture and air leak. We present a case of COVID-19 pneumonia complicated on day 13 post admission by SPM, PNX and subcutaneous emphysema in a patient with no identifiable risk factors for such complication. The patient received medical treatment for his COVID-19 infection without the use of an invasive or non-invasive ventilator. Moreover, he is a non-smoker with no lung comorbidities and never reported a cough. He was eventually discharged home in stable condition. A comprehensive literature review revealed 15 cases of SPM developing in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Case Study-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Review-3
content type line 23
ObjectType-Feature-5
ObjectType-Article-4
ObjectType-Report-1
ISSN:1757-790X
1757-790X
DOI:10.1136/bcr-2020-239489