Pneumomediastinum following intubation in COVID-19 patients: a case series.
Anaesthesia
; 75(8): 1076-1081, 2020 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-197387
ABSTRACT
The number of patients requiring tracheal intubation rose dramatically in March and April 2020 with the COVID-19 outbreak. Our thoracic surgery department has seen an increased incidence of severe pneumomediastinum referred for surgical opinion in intubated patients with COVID-19 pneumonitis. Here we present a series of five patients with severe pneumomediastinum requiring decompression therapy over a 7-day period in the current COVID-19 outbreak. We hypothesise that the mechanism for this is the aggressive disease pathophysiology with an increased risk of alveolar damage and tracheobronchial injury, along with the use of larger-bore tracheal tubes and higher ventilation pressures. We present this case series in order to highlight the increased risk of this potentially life-threatening complication among the COVID-19 patient cohort and offer guidance for its management to critical care physicians.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Intubation, Intratracheal
/
Mediastinal Emphysema
Type of study:
Case report
/
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Anaesthesia
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Anae.15113
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