Radiol Case Rep . Spontaneous pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum as a rare complication of COVID-19 pneumonia: Report of 6 cases

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Radiol Case Rep


. 2021 Mar;16(3):687-692.
doi: 10.1016/j.radcr.2021.01.011. Epub 2021 Jan 7.
Spontaneous pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum as a rare complication of COVID-19 pneumonia: Report of 6 cases


Moezedin Javad Rafiee ^{1 2} , Faranak Babaki Fard ^{1 3} , Kaveh Samimi ^{1 4} , Hamid Rasti ⁵ , Josephine Pressacco ⁶



Affiliations

• PMID: 33437348
• PMCID: PMC7790462
• DOI: 10.1016/j.radcr.2021.01.011

Free PMC article

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumothorax (SPT) and pneumomediastinum (SPM) have been reported as uncommon complications of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia. The exact incidence and risk factors are still unrecognized. We report 6 nonventilated, COVID-19 pneumonia cases with SPT and SPM and their outcomes. The major risk factors for development of SPT and SPM in our patients were male gender, advance age, and pre-existing lung disease. These complications may occur in the absence of mechanical ventilation and associated with increasing morbidity (chest tube insertion, sepsis, hospital admission) and mortality. SPT and SPM should be considered as a potential predictive factor for adverse outcome and probable cause of unexplained deterioration of clinical condition in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Keywords: COVID-19; Pneumomediastinum; Pneumonia; Pneumothorax.