Cho YM, Guevara S, Aronsohn J, Mumford JM, Shore-Lesserson L, Miyara SJ, Herrera M, Kirsch C, Metz CN, Zafeiropoulos S, Giannis D, McCann-Molmenti A, Hayashida K, Shinozaki K, Shoaib M, Choudhary RC, Aranalde GI, Becker LB, Molmenti EP, Kruer J, and Hatoum A
This case report describes a 60 year-old Black-American male with a past medical history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and hyperthyroidism, who suffered a bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) in the setting of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. SP is a well-established complication in HIV-positive patients and only recently has been associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. While HIV and COVID-19 infections have been independently linked with increased risk of SP development, it is unknown if both infections interact in a synergistic fashion to exacerbate SP risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), patients living with HIV have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection and the mechanism remains to be elucidated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a HIV-positive patient, who in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection, developed bilateral apical spontaneous pneumothorax and was later found to have a left lower lobe tension pneumothorax. This case highlights the importance of considering SP on the differential diagnosis when HIV-positive patients suddenly develop respiratory distress in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Cho, Guevara, Aronsohn, Mumford, Shore-Lesserson, Miyara, Herrera, Kirsch, Metz, Zafeiropoulos, Giannis, McCann-Molmenti, Hayashida, Shinozaki, Shoaib, Choudhary, Aranalde, Becker, Molmenti, Kruer and Hatoum.)