• João Guimarães Ferreira, Cristiane Rapparini, Bruno Moreno Gomes, Luiz Alexandre Cabral Pinto, and Mário Sérgio da Silva E Freire.
• Hospital Unimed Resende, Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Rev. Inst. Med. Trop. Sao Paulo. 2020 Jan 1; 62: e61.

AbstractIn late 2019, a novel coronavirus initially related to a cluster of severe pneumonia cases in China was identified. COVID-19 cases have rapidly spread to multiple countries worldwide. We present a typical laboratory confirmed case of COVID-19 pneumonia, that was hospitalized due to hypoxemia but did not require mechanical ventilation. Although initially the patient was evaluated with a favorable outcome, in the third week of the disease, the symptomatology deteriorated due to a massive hypertensive pneumothorax with no known previous risk factor. Since the first cases of COVID-19 have been described, pneumothorax was characterized as a potential, though uncommon, complication. It has been reported that diffuse alveolar injury caused by SARS-CoV-2 can cause alveolar rupture, produce air leakage and interstitial emphysema. Although uncommon, pneumothorax should be listed as a differential diagnosis for COVID-19 patients with sudden respiratory decompensation. As a life-threatening event, it requires prompt recognition and expeditious treatment.

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