Relapsing Secondary Spontaneous Pneumothorax during COVID-19 infection

Abstract

Objective: COVID-19 infection has been reported to cause spontaneous pneumothorax with variable clinical manifestations and prognoses. We would like to present a case of a patient who developed spontaneous pneumothorax during COVID-19 infection.

Case Presentation: A 40-year-old male patient developed spontaneous pneumothorax during COVID-19 infection. A prolonged air leak developed and the patient was discharged with a Heimlich valve. Then the pneumothorax relapsed twice. The surgical treatment of pneumothorax was postponed because of a persistently increased state of inflammation secondary to COVID-19 infection. Our patient recovered completely with carefully timed surgical intervention.

Conclusion: Surgery for the treatment of cases with pneumothoraces during COVID-19 infection has been reported to be as low as 2% compared to 25% in standard pneumothorax admissions. This might be secondary to the generally less favorable general conditions and higher morbidity and mortality of the COVID-19 patients in contrast to the general population who develop spontaneous pneumothorax. The diagnosis and management of these patients may become challenging as symptoms and signs of spontaneous pneumothorax tend to be similar to COVID-19 and these patients may require tailored management.