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Case Reports
. 2022 Feb 12;14(2):e22150.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.22150. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Hydropneumothorax With Persistent Air Leak in a Patient With Mild COVID-19 Disease

Ioannis N Pantazopoulos  1 , Athanasios Pagonis  2 , Garifallia Perlepe  2 , Christos F Kampolis  3 , Konstantinos I Gourgoulianis  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hydropneumothorax With Persistent Air Leak in a Patient With Mild COVID-19 Disease

Ioannis N Pantazopoulos et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

COVID-19 is a pandemic viral disease with a catastrophic global impact. The severity of COVID-19 symptoms ranges from very mild to severe and affects mainly the respiratory system. Spontaneous pneumothorax and pleural effusion are rarely seen in spontaneously breathing COVID-19 patients. We herein report a case of a patient with mild COVID-19 disease presenting to the emergency department with hydropneumothorax. Due to persistent air leak, the patient was managed with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) bullectomy and talc pleurodesis. Clinicians managing these patients should be alert to early diagnose this complication.

Keywords: bullectomy; covid-19; hydropneumothorax; persistent air leak; pleural effusion; pleurodesis; pneumothorax.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Initial chest x-ray showing air fluid level in the right thoracic cavity (white arrows)
Figure 2
Figure 2. Chest computed tomography showing a large right-sided hydropneumothorax
Figure 3
Figure 3. Chest computed tomography performed 10 days following chest tube insertion showing non-expandable right lung
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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