A 63-year-old man with hypoxemia and shock after initial recovery from COVID-19 pneumonia

Abstract

A 63-year-old man presented with fever and breathlessness during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. He was diagnosed to have severe COVID-19 pneumonia. He was treated with oxygen, noninvasive ventilation, and glucocorticoids. He improved over 5 weeks and was shifted out of the intensive care unit. Subsequently, he experienced worsening during hospitalization with refractory hypoxemia and shock and finally succumbed to his illness. An autopsy was performed. Herein, we have presented a clinical discussion on the possible causes of the patient's fatal outcome followed by the autopsy findings.

Keywords

• acute respiratory distress syndrome
• cytomegalovirus
• myocarditis
• pulmonary embolism
• severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
• spleen