A case report, bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax as a late complication for SARS CoV-2 infection

Miguel Angel Plata-Corona, MD; Mayra Alejandra López-Aguilar, MD; Juan Manuel Ibarra-Hernández, PhD; Jorge Tello-Cavazos, MD; Luis Fernando Marcial-Cuevas, MD

Radiology Case Reports (Jun 2022)

A case report, bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax as a late complication for SARS CoV-2 infection

Miguel Angel Plata-Corona, MD,
Mayra Alejandra López-Aguilar, MD,
Juan Manuel Ibarra-Hernández, PhD,
Jorge Tello-Cavazos, MD,
Luis Fernando Marcial-Cuevas, MD

Affiliations

Miguel Angel Plata-Corona, MD: General Surgery Department, Specialty Hospital National Medical Center “La Raza” Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Azcapotzalco s/n, La Raza, Azcapotzalco, Ciudad de México, C.P. 02990, México; General Surgery Department, General Regional Hospital No. 196 “Fidel Velázquez Sánchez” Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. Avenida Central esquina la Piedad s/n, San Agustín Tercera Sección, Ecatepec, Estado de México, C.P. 55130, México; Corresponding author.
Mayra Alejandra López-Aguilar, MD: Medicine School, Universidad Popular Autónoma de Puebla, Av 21 Sur 1103, Barrio de Santiago, Puebla, C.P. 72410, Puebla, México
Juan Manuel Ibarra-Hernández, PhD: Institute of Physiology, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 14 Sur. 6301, Ciudad Universitaria, Jardines de San Manuel, Puebla, Puebla, C. P. 72570, México
Jorge Tello-Cavazos, MD: Clinical Neurophysiology Service, Specialty Hospital “Dr. Bernardo Sepúlveda Gutiérrez” del Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av Cuauhtémoc 330, Doctores, Cuauhtémoc, Ciudad de México, C.P. 06720, México
Luis Fernando Marcial-Cuevas, MD: General Surgery Department, Specialty Hospital National Medical Center “La Raza” Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Azcapotzalco s/n, La Raza, Azcapotzalco, Ciudad de México, C.P. 02990, México; General Surgery Department, General Regional Hospital No. 196 “Fidel Velázquez Sánchez” Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. Avenida Central esquina la Piedad s/n, San Agustín Tercera Sección, Ecatepec, Estado de México, C.P. 55130, México

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 17, no. 6
pp. 2265 – 2268

Abstract

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The beta-coronavirus discovered in Wuhan in 2019 (COVID-19) provokes a series of affections from mild symptoms to life-threatening complications. There is evidence that associates the disease to spontaneous pneumothorax, however, the mechanism is unknown. The patient was a 45-year-old male with previous pneumonia due to COVID-19 who was attended the emergency department, where chest radiography was taken, confirming the diagnosis of right pneumothorax. However, the patient developed a new episode of pleuritic pain three days later, and a new radiograph showed left pneumothorax requiring a new chest tube. The simple tomography shows intraparenchymal bullae in the apical region of both lungs. The patient was kept under observation, and when improving, both endopleural chest drains were removed, and the patient was discharged. Spontaneous bilateral pneumothorax is a rare and potentially life-threatening complication. Identifying pulmonary bullae in patients with COVID-19 could be an early sign for these patients to develop spontaneous pneumothorax.

Published in Radiology Case Reports

ISSN: 1930-0433 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General): Medical physics. Medical radiology. Nuclear medicine
Website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/radiology-case-reports

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