Effects of pulmonary air leak on patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed increasing challenges to global health systems. We aimed to understand the effects of pulmonary air leak (PAL), including pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema, on patients with COVID-19. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase and Web of Science for data and performed a meta-analysis with a random-effects model using Stata 14.0. This meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. RESULTS: Thirty-five articles were included in the meta-analysis. The data came from 14 countries and included 3,047 COVID-19 patients with PAL, 11,3679 COVID-19 patients without PAL and 361 non-COVID-19 patients with PAL. We found that the incidence of PAL was much higher in COVID-19 patients than in non-COVID-19 patients (odds ratio (OR) = 6.13, 95% CI: 2.09–18.00). We found that the group of COVID-19 patients with PAL had a longer hospital stay (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.27–1.30) and intensive care unit (ICU) stay (SMD = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.19–0.83) and comprised more ICU (OR = 15.16, 95% CI: 6.51–35.29) and mechanical ventilation patients (OR = 5.52, 95% CI: 1.69–17.99); furthermore, the mortality rate was also higher (OR = 2.62, 95% CI: 1.80–3.82). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with lung injuries caused by COVID-19 may develop PAL. COVID-19 patients with PAL require more medical resources, have more serious conditions and have worse clinical outcomes. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022365047. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12890-023-02710-2.