Pulmonary air leak syndrome in rheumatoid arthritis patient

• Published in: SAGE open medical case reports Vol. 10
• Main Authors: El Ouali, Ibtissam, Habib Chorfa, Sara, El Hamzaoui, Hamza, Alilou, Mustapha, Jroundi, Laila, Laamrani, FZ
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-09-2022; Sage Publications Ltd; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Case Report; Case reports; Lung diseases; Rheumatoid arthritis; steroids; CT scan; rheumatoid arthritis; air leak
• ISSN: 2050-313X; 2050-313X
• DOI: 10.1177/2050313X221125361

Pulmonary air leak syndromes involve dissection of air out of the normal pulmonary airspaces and include pulmonary interstitial emphysema, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium, pneumoperitoneum, subcutaneous emphysema and systemic air embolism. It presents as a spontaneous extension of dissecting air without a history of a procedure or penetrating injury. Pulmonary air leak syndromes are extremely rare complications of systemic autoimmune connective tissue diseases. Few cases were reported in the literature regarding rheumatoid arthritis patients. The purpose of this article is to emphasize on this rare pulmonary complication and discuss the physiopathology of the disease and the different risk factors for a better management of these patients. We report the case of a 45-year-old female, with a history of proven rheumatoid arthritis under methotrexate and steroids, who presented with a spontaneous dissecting subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and pneumoperitoneum. The patient’s condition improved after chest drainage and adjustment of her medical treatment.