Pneumomediastinum following intubation in COVID-19 patients: a case series
- 10 June 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Anaesthesia
- Vol. 75 (8), 1076-1081
- https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.15113
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.This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
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