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Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences 2022COVID-19 patients develop Life-threatening complications like pneumomediastinum/pneumothorax and emphysema which might experience prolonged hospital stays and additional... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
COVID-19 patients develop Life-threatening complications like pneumomediastinum/pneumothorax and emphysema which might experience prolonged hospital stays and additional costs might be imposed on the patient and the health system. The clinical features and outcomes of mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 infection who develop a pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema has not been rigorously described or compared to those who do not develop these complications. So a systematic review of studies conducted on this subject was carried out to better manage these complications by investigating the underlying factors in COVID-19 patients.
METHODS
The search was conducted between early January and late December 2020 in databases including PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, using the following keywords and their combinations: COVID-19 Complication, Pneumothorax, Pneumomediastinum, Pneumopericardium, and Subcutaneous Emphysema. The extracted studies were screened separately by two researchers based on the PRISMA statement. After eliminating the duplicate studies, the title, abstract, and full text of the remaining studies were reviewed. Disagreements in the screening and selection of the studies were resolved by consensus or through a third-party opinion.
RESULTS
A total of 793 articles were retrieved through the literature search, and 99 studies conducted on a total of 139 patients were finally included The patient mortality was found to have a significant relationship with positive pressure ventilation (P=0.0001). There was no significant relationship between the patients' death and chest tube insertion (P=0.2) or between the interval of time from the onset of symptoms to the diagnosis of pneumothorax (P=0.7). The mean age was higher in the deceased cases, and the mean difference observed was statistically significant (P=0.001).
CONCLUSION
With the expansion of our clinical understanding of COVID-19, recognition of the uncommon complications of COVID-19 especially pneumothorax is crucial. Although in our review we couldn't find a causal relationship between COVID-19 and pneumothorax or association between pneumothorax and death, as it is limited by many variables such as included studies' design, or incomplete outcome data especially more information about the associated risk factors, we recommend performing more well-designed studies to describe the pneumothoraxes' incidence, risk factors, and outcomes in COVID-19 patients.
PubMed: 35480506
DOI: 10.12669/pjms.38.3.5529 -
Journal of Korean Medical Science Mar 2016Pneumopericardium is defined as the presence of air inside the pericardial space. Usually, it is reported as a complication of blunt or penetrating chest trauma, but...
Pneumopericardium is defined as the presence of air inside the pericardial space. Usually, it is reported as a complication of blunt or penetrating chest trauma, but rare iatrogenic and spontaneous cases have been reported. Pneumopericardium is relatively stable if it does not generate a tension effect on the heart. However, it may progress to tension pneumopericardium, which requires immediate pericardial aspiration. We report a case of iatrogenic pneumopericardium occurred in a 70-year-old man who presented dyspnea at emergency department. The patient underwent pericardiocentesis for cardiac tamponade due to large pericardial effusion, and iatrogenic tension pneumopericardium occurred due to misuse of the drainage device. After evacuating the pericardial air through the previously implanted catheter, the patient became stable. We report this case to increase the awareness of this fatal condition and to help increase the use of precautions against the development of this condition during emergency procedures.
Topics: Aged; Cardiac Tamponade; Drainage; Dyspnea; Emergency Medical Services; Heart Ventricles; Humans; Male; Medical Errors; Pericardial Effusion; Pericardiocentesis; Pneumopericardium; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 26952636
DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.3.470 -
International Journal of Surgery Case... 2016Pneumopericardium, defined as the presence of gas in the pericardial sac, is a rare condition caused mostly by trauma. Tension pneumopericardium is a cause of...
INTRODUCTION
Pneumopericardium, defined as the presence of gas in the pericardial sac, is a rare condition caused mostly by trauma. Tension pneumopericardium is a cause of hemodynamic instability; hence, it consists in a life-threatening situation and should be regarded in blunt chest trauma.
CASE REPORT
A 51-year-old male was victim of a 4m fall and burial. He was stable upon admission and presented a simple pneumopericardium and pneumomediastinum on CT. While being submitted to an upper digestive endoscopy he presented respiratory failure and had to be intubated, suddenly evolving to shock. He was promptly referred to the operating room; a pericardial window confirmed tension pneumopericardium and immediately hemodynamic stability was restored. A pericardial drain was placed and kept for 15days. He was discharged at the 18th day post-trauma after a satisfactory recovery at the trauma ICU.
DISCUSSION
Blunt thoracic trauma causes pneumopericardium by various mechanisms. Tension pneumopericardium is a possible outcome, probably related to positive-pressure ventilation. It leads to hemodynamic instability and requires immediate decompression and placement of a pericardial drain.
PubMed: 27266838
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2016.04.052 -
The Journal of Thoracic and... Nov 2019
Topics: Cardiac Surgical Procedures; Humans; Mitral Valve; Pneumopericardium
PubMed: 30392945
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2018.09.095 -
Circulation Reports Apr 2023
PubMed: 37025941
DOI: 10.1253/circrep.CR-22-0061 -
Biomedical Papers of the Medical... Mar 2023Tension pneumopericardium is a life-threatening condition, manifesting most commonly as hemodynamic instability caused by cardiac tamponade. Reduced cardiac output and...
INTRODUCTION
Tension pneumopericardium is a life-threatening condition, manifesting most commonly as hemodynamic instability caused by cardiac tamponade. Reduced cardiac output and blood pressure can lead to difficulties in the detection of arterial bleeding from associated injuries while the increased venous pressure can increase the rate of bleeding.
CASE REPORT
This is the case of a patient after a car accident, with bilateral serial fractures, bilateral pulmonary contusion, bilateral pneumothorax, emphysema of the neck and chest, pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium, and other injuries. During treatment, the patient developed a gradually progressing hemodynamic instability, resulting in pulseless electrical activity. Further progression of the case is detailed in the paper.
CONCLUSIONS
Tension pneumopericardium is a rare complication of a high-energy blunt thoracic trauma that manifests through hemodynamic instability. Its treatment requires early diagnosis and immediate decompression of the pericardial cavity, which should, where possible, be performed even before putting the patient on mechanical ventilation as ventilation bears a high risk of worsening the pneumopericardium due to the increased air pressure in the lungs. During diagnosis and treatment of associated injuries, we must bear in mind that the hemodynamic changes caused by pneumopericardium can mask typical signs of such injuries.
Topics: Humans; Pneumopericardium; Thoracic Injuries; Pneumothorax; Multiple Trauma; Respiration, Artificial
PubMed: 34747414
DOI: 10.5507/bp.2021.060 -
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association... Feb 2023
Topics: Humans; Pericardiocentesis; Pneumopericardium; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 36746478
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.221137 -
Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism... 2017Hamman's syndrome (spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum) is a rare complication of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), with a multifactorial etiology....
UNLABELLED
Hamman's syndrome (spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum) is a rare complication of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), with a multifactorial etiology. Awareness of this syndrome is important: it is likely underdiagnosed as the main symptom of shortness of breath is often attributed to Kussmaul's breathing and the findings on chest radiograph can be subtle and easily missed. It is also important to be aware of and consider Boerhaave's syndrome as a differential diagnosis, a more serious condition with a 40% mortality rate when diagnosis is delayed. We present a case of pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium, epidural emphysema and subcutaneous emphysema complicating DKA in an eighteen-year-old patient. We hope that increasing awareness of Hamman's syndrome, and how to distinguish it from Boerhaave's syndrome, will lead to better recognition and management of these syndromes in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis.
LEARNING POINTS
Hamman's syndrome (spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum) is a rare complication of DKA.Presentation may be with chest or neck pain and shortness of breath, and signs are subcutaneous emphysema and Hamman's sign - a precordial crunching or popping sound during systole.Boerhaave's syndrome should be considered as a differential diagnosis, especially in cases with severe vomiting.The diagnosis of pneumomediastinum is made on chest radiograph, but a CT thorax with water-soluble oral contrast looking for contrast leak may be required if there is high clinical suspicion of Boerrhave's syndrome.Hamman's syndrome has an excellent prognosis, self-resolving with the correction of the ketoacidosis in all published cases in the literature.
PubMed: 29218226
DOI: 10.1530/EDM-17-0135 -
Radiologia 2021To describe the radiologic findings of extrapulmonary air in the chest and to review atypical and unusual causes of extrapulmonary air, emphasizing the importance of the... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To describe the radiologic findings of extrapulmonary air in the chest and to review atypical and unusual causes of extrapulmonary air, emphasizing the importance of the diagnosis in managing these patients.
CONCLUSION
In this article, we review a series of cases collected at our center that manifest with extrapulmonary air in the thorax, paying special attention to atypical and uncommon causes. We discuss the causes of extrapulmonary according to its location: mediastinum (spontaneous pneumomediastinum with pneumorrhachis, tracheal rupture, dehiscence of the bronchial anastomosis after lung transplantation, intramucosal esophageal dissection, Boerhaave syndrome, tracheoesophageal fistula in patients with esophageal tumors, bronchial perforation and esophagorespiratory fistula due to lymph-node rupture, and acute mediastinitis), pericardium (pneumopericardium in patients with lung tumors), cardiovascular (venous air embolism), pleura (bronchopleural fistulas, spontaneous pneumothorax in patients with malignant pleural mesotheliomas and primary lung tumors, and bilateral pneumothorax after unilateral lung biopsy), and thoracic wall (infections, transdiaphragmatic intercostal hernia, and subcutaneous emphysema after lung biopsy).
Topics: Humans; Mediastinal Emphysema; Rupture; Subcutaneous Emphysema; Thorax; Trachea
PubMed: 34246426
DOI: 10.1016/j.rxeng.2021.02.005 -
Asian Cardiovascular & Thoracic Annals Feb 2022There are various reports of air leaks with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We undertook a systematic review of all published case reports and series to analyse the...
INTRODUCTION
There are various reports of air leaks with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We undertook a systematic review of all published case reports and series to analyse the types of air leaks in COVID-19 and their outcomes.
METHODS
The literature search from PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases was performed from the start of the pandemic till 31 March 2021. The inclusion criteria were case reports or series on (1) laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, (2) with the individual patient details, and (3) reported diagnosis of one or more air leak syndrome (pneumothorax, subcutaneous emphysema, pneumomediastinum, pneumoperitoneum, pneumopericardium).
RESULTS
A total of 105 studies with 188 patients were included in the final analysis. The median age was 56.02 (SD 15.53) years, 80% males, 11% had previous respiratory disease, and 8% were smokers. Severe or critical COVID-19 was present in 50.6% of the patients. Pneumothorax (68%) was the most common type of air leak. Most patients (56.7%) required intervention with lower mortality (29.1% vs. 44.1%, p = 0.07) and intercostal drain (95.9%) was the preferred interventional management. More than half of the patients developed air leak on spontaneous breathing. The mortality was significantly higher in patients who developed air leak with positive pressure ventilation (49%, p < 0.001) and required escalation of respiratory support (39%, p = 0.006).
CONCLUSION
Air leak in COVID-19 can occur spontaneously without positive pressure ventilation, higher transpulmonary pressures, and other risk factors like previous respiratory disease or smoking. The mortality is significantly higher if associated with positive pressure ventilation and escalation of respiratory support.
Topics: COVID-19; Female; Humans; Male; Mediastinal Emphysema; Middle Aged; Pneumothorax; SARS-CoV-2; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 34247490
DOI: 10.1177/02184923211031134