Pneumothorax in Intubated Patients With COVID-19: A Case Series.

Pneumothorax is a rare complication among mechanically ventilated patients since low tidal volumes are used nowadays instead of traditional high tidal volumes, but the incidence is slightly higher in patients with high positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Herein we describe a case series of nine patients who were on mechanical ventilation due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and developed pneumothorax in due course. A retrospective analysis was done on COVID-19 intubated patients from March 2020 to June 2020 in a community hospital in Central New Jersey, which was one of the early hit states in the United States at the beginning of the pandemic.

Lesson of the month 1: To stop a fit, but swinging low.

This is a case of an elderly woman who presented to our emergency room with an episode of a witnessed fall. The past medical history of the patient was significant for post-stroke epilepsy for which she was on oxcarbazepine. Initial blood work showed a white cell count of 4.