Cureus . Secondary Pneumothorax Induced by a Bronchopleural Fistula in a Patient With COVID-19 Pneumonia

[tetano]

Cureus


. 2022 Jul 7;14(7):e26627.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.26627. eCollection 2022 Jul.
Secondary Pneumothorax Induced by a Bronchopleural Fistula in a Patient With COVID-19 Pneumonia


Connor Smith ¹ , Olivia Mobarakai ¹ , Amber Bux ² , Ralph Kamel ² , Neville Mobarakai ³



Affiliations

• PMID: 35949738
• PMCID: PMC9356666
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.26627

Abstract

COVID-19 is a multi-system disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). One of the main highlights of the disease is the development of pneumonia complicated by adult respiratory distress syndrome. While spontaneous pneumothorax has been reported in some patients with COVID-19, bronchopleural fistula has seldom been reported as the primary cause in these cases. We describe the rare case of a young patient who developed a pneumothorax complicating COVID-19 and was found to have a bronchopleural fistula and empyema secondary to Staphylococcus aureus superinfection.

Keywords: bronchopleural fistula; covid-19; empyema; pneumonia; pneumothorax.