Pneumothorax in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia with invasive mechanical ventilation

OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for pneumothorax in patients with invasive mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia. METHODS: The prevalence of pneumothorax was retrospectively reviewed in 107 patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia and treated in an ICU in Turkey between 11 March 2020 and 30 April 2020. RESULTS: The patients were aged 19–92 years; 37 (34.6%) were women. Pneumothorax developed in 8 (7.5%) of the intubated patients. Four (50%) of the patients with pneumothorax and 68 (68.7%) of those without it died. In the univariable logistic regression analysis of the presence of comorbid diseases (P = 0.91), positive end-expiratory pressure (P = 0.18), compliance (P = 0.93), peak pressure (P = 0.41) and the Horowitz index (P = 0.13) did not show statistically significant effects in increasing the risk of pneumothorax. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant increase or decrease in the risk of pneumothorax in patients treated with invasive mechanical ventilation after the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019-related pneumonia/acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, consideration of the risk of pneumothorax in these individuals may have the potential to improve the prognoses in such settings.