Case report
SPONTANEOUS PNEUMOMEDIASTINUM IN A PATIENT TWO MONTHS AFTER RECOVERY FROM COVID-19 PNEUMONIA AFTER PERFORMING SPIROMETRY
ANJA LJILJA
; Dubrava University Hospital, Department of Pulmonology, Zagreb, Croatia
DARJAN RANILOVIĆ
; Dubrava University Hospital, Department of Pulmonology, Zagreb, Croatia
IVAN MARASOVIĆ
; Dubrava University Hospital, Department of Pulmonology, Zagreb, Croatia
DINO BEŠIĆ
; Dubrava University Hospital, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Zagreb, Croatia
NEVENKA PISKAČ ŽIVKOVIĆ
; Special Hospital Radiochirurgia Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
We present a case report of a middle-aged man who developed spontaneous pneumomediastinum and pneumothorax after performing spirometry. The patient was evaluated in post-COVID-19 outpatient hospital 70 days after his initial hospitalization for severe COVID-19 pneumonia. After performing forced expiratory maneuver on spirometry, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) showed a small right-sided pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum along the bronchi, large blood vessels, and cardiac contour with ‘ground-glass’ opacifications in all lung lobes. The patient was cardiopulmonary compensated and conservative treatment was recommended. The long-term consequences of COVID-19 pneumonia are still not suffi ciently known. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum can very rarely occur as a complication during regular investigation of lung function caused by forced expiratory maneuver on spirometry. Due to lung parenchymal damage, pneumomediastinum with or without pneumothorax in post-COVID-19 patients occurring after spirometry can be expected as a rare but possible complication.
Keywords
mediastinal emphysema; COVID-19; pneumonia; pneumothorax; spirometry/adverse effects
Hrčak ID:
274000
URI
Publication date:
16.3.2022.
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