GIRAFFE IN THE COVID-19 LUNG: PULMONARY FIBROSIS LIMITING SEVERITY OF THE PNEUMOTHORAX

Abstract

TOPIC: Chest Infections TYPE: Medical Student/Resident Case Reports INTRODUCTION: More than a year has passed since the first reported cases of COVID-19 worldwide. We present a case of a patient with COVID-19 who acquired bilateral pulmonary fibrosis then later developed a pneumothorax of the right lung. Ironically, it was this fibrosis that prevented a catastrophic collapse of the lung. CASE PRESENTATION: This is a 60-year-old Caucasian female with hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who was admitted due to a four-day history of worsening shortness of breath four days due to COVID pneumonia. She was admitted to the ICU due to worsening respiratory status and was maintained on bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation (BIPAP) for two weeks. Repeated chest radiographs in the ICU showed diffuse infiltrates with ground glass opacities bilaterally. She began to improve on the 3rd week of hospitalization, allowing titration down to high flow nasal cannula with BIPAP at night for OSA. On the 4th week, a routine chest radiograph incidentally revealed a small right apical pneumothorax. She had no desaturations, tachypnea, or increased work of breathing at this time. A CT scan of the chest confirmed the extensive pulmonary fibrosis and ground glass opacities and demonstrated the pneumothorax (Figure 1). A repeat 36 hour chest radiograph (Figure 2) showed expansion of the pneumothorax to a volume of 25% of the right hemithorax, with no signs of tension. The patient's clinical status remained unchanged. Follow-up chest CT scan (Figure 1) showed fibrotic attachments tethering the lungs to the pleura that may have limited its further collapse. Patient underwent a CT-guided pigtail catheter insertion the same day. Follow-up imaging the next day confirmed resolution of the pneumothorax. The pigtail catheter was later removed. The patient remained hospitalized, but improving. DISCUSSION: Pulmonary fibrosis is a known sequelae of COVID pneumonia. Bullae and cyst formation can form as a result of this extensive airspace disease. Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax in COVID-19 could be due to damage to the subpleural alveoli from the formation of cysts and bullae leading to spontaneous alveolar rupture into the pleural space. The use of BIPAP could have contributed to it, due to additional volume and barotrauma. Our patient developed pulmonary fibrosis after remaining hospitalized for more than 4 weeks. The fibrosis caused the lung to tether to portions of the pleura, preventing a quick, catastrophic collapse of the lung. The delay in progression gave the patient an opportunity to undergo a CT-guided pigtail catheter insertion, as opposed to an emergent chest tube thoracostomy which would have been a more invasive, traumatic, and painful procedure. CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights the possibility of extensive lung fibrosis, via thick pleural adhesions, protecting patients from developing fatal pneumothorax. REFERENCE #1: Wu, C., et al., Risk Factors Associated With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Death in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA Intern Med, 2020. 180(7): p. 934-943. REFERENCE #2: Rai, D.K., P. Sharma, and R. Kumar, Post covid 19 pulmonary fibrosis- Is it reversible? Indian Journal of Tuberculosis, 2020. REFERENCE #3: Martinelli, A.W., et al., COVID-19 and pneumothorax: a multicentre retrospective case series. Eur Respir J, 2020. 56(5) DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Patrick Benjamin, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Marvyn Allen Chan, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Josemaria Demigillo, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Ma Pamela Demigillo, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Stephen Jesmajian, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Junfeng Xue, source=Web Response