ABSTRACT
Case in the paper is of a 24-year-old woman presenting to Baqiyatallah hospital, Tehran, Iran with the occasional fever, weakness, myalgia, fatigue, body aches, and headache who was diagnosed with Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) PCR test. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) and pneumopericardium (SPP). Here, we described SPM, and SPP in a patient with COVID-19, presenting a severe course of the disease.
ABSTRACT
Severe forms of COVID-19 can evolve into pneumonia, featured by acute respiratory failure due to acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In viral diseases, the replication of viruses is seemingly stimulated by an imbalance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant activity as well as by the deprivation of antioxidant mechanisms. In COVID-19 pneumonia, oxidative stress also appears to be highly detrimental to lung tissues. Although inhaling ozone (O3) gas has been shown to be toxic to the lungs, recent evidence suggests that its administration via appropriate routes and at small doses can paradoxically induce an adaptive reaction capable of decreasing the endogenous oxidative stress. Ozone therapy is recommended to counter the disruptive effects of severe COVID-19 on lung tissues, especially if administered in early stages of the disease, thereby preventing the progression to ARDS.