Pneumopericardium in COVID-19 Infection

Document Type : Case Report

Authors

1 Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, IR Iran.

2 Department of Cardiology, Isfahan University of Medical Science, Isfahan, IR Iran.

Abstract

Pneumopericardium is a rare medical condition that occurs following trauma, surgery, or other medical interventions. The presence of pneumopericardium after COVID-19 pneumonia has been reported in some cases, and it has been explained that most cases could be self-limited. Here, we describe a 51-year-old man afflicted by pneumopericardium with COVID-19 infection. The patient had pneumopericardium and massive pericardial effusions, necessitating surgical strategies such as pericardial windows. This case highlights the potential severity of COVID-19. We also suggest that cardiologists pay attention to the possibility of pneumopericardium in cases with COVID-19 infection. (Iranian Heart Journal 2023; 24(1): 97-103)

Keywords


  1. Karoui M, Bucur PO. Pneumopericardium. N Engl J Med. 2008; 359(14):e16.
  2. Konijn AJ, Egbers PH, Kuiper MA. Pneumopericardium should be considered with electrocardiogram changes after blunt chest trauma: a case report. J Med Case Reports. 2008; 2(1):100.
  3. Novel CPERE. The epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) in China. Zhonghua liu xing bing xue za zhi= Zhonghua liuxingbingxue zazhi. 2020; 41(2):145.
  4. Andersen KG, Rambaut A, Lipkin WI, Holmes EC, Garry RF. The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2. Nat Med. 2020; 26(4):450-2.
  5. Cascella M, Rajnik M, Cuomo A, Dulebohn SC, Di Napoli R. Features, evaluation and treatment coronavirus (COVID-19). Statpearls [internet]: StatPearls Publishing; 2020.
  6. Brito D, Meester S, Yanamala N, Patel HB, Balcik BJ, Casaclang-Verzosa G, et al. High Prevalence of Pericardial Involvement in College Student Athletes Recovering From COVID-19. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2020.
  7. Amoozgar B, Kaushal V, Mubashar U, Sen S, Yousaf S, Yotsuya M. Symptomatic pericardial effusion in the setting of asymptomatic COVID-19 infection: A case report. Medicine. 2020; 99(37).
  8. Tung-Chen Y. Acute pericarditis due to COVID-19 infection: An underdiagnosed disease? Medicina Clinica (English Ed). 2020; 155(1):44.
  9. Juárez-Lloclla JP, León-Jiménez F, Urquiaga-Calderón J, Temoche-Nizama H, Bryce-Alberti M, Portmann-Baracco A, et al. Spontaneous Pneumopericardium and Pneumomediastinum in Twelve COVID-19 Patients. Arch Bronconeumol. 2020.
  10. Hazariwala V, Hadid H, Kirsch D, Big C. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium, pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, a case report. J Cardiothorac Surg. 2020; 15(1):1-5.
  11. Zhu H, Lieber JJ. COVID-19 and Spontaneous Pneumopericardium: A Case Report. Journal of Scientific Innovation in Medicine. 2020; 3(3).
  12. Singh A, Bass J, Lindner DH. Rare Complication of Pneumomediastinum and Pneumopericardium in a Patient with COVID-19 Pneumonia. Case reports in pulmonology. 2020; 2020.
  13. Scacciavillani R, Iannaccone G, Del Buono MG, Bello G. Pneumopericardium following mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 pneumonia. European Heart Journal: Case Reports. 2020.
  14. Hamad A-MM, Elmahrouk AF, Abdulatty OA. Alveolar air leakage in COVID-19 patients: Pneumomediastinum and/or pneumopericardium. Heart Lung. 2020.