A Secondary Spontaneous Pneumothorax in a Patient with COVID-19: Case report

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus, represents an unprecedented global threat. We report a 78-year-old male patient who presented to the Emergency Department at a tertiary care hospital in Muscat, Oman, in June 2020 with a one-day history of right chest pain and severe breathlessness. The patient was an ex-smoker and known to have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with two previous pneumothoraces in the left lung. On presentation, the patient was breathless with an oxygen saturation of 90% on room air. Chest X-ray demonstrated bilateral lung infiltrates and right-sided pneumothorax. The patient tested positive for SARS CoV 2. A chest drain was placed which resulted in good resolution of the pneumothorax. The patient’s condition improved remarkably and he was discharged after 17 days of hospitalisation. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was the first case of pneumothorax reported in a patient infected with COVID-19 who was known to have underlying IPF.

Keywords: Spontaneous Pneumothorax; Pulmonary Fibrosis; SARS Coronavirus; Oxygen; Pleurodesis; COVID-19; Case Report; Oman.