AUTHOR=Cho Young Min , Guevara Sara , Aronsohn Judith , Mumford James M. , Shore-Lesserson Linda , Miyara Santiago J. , Herrera Martin , Kirsch Claudia , Metz Christine N. , Zafeiropoulos Stefanos , Giannis Dimitrios , McCann-Molmenti Alexia , Hayashida Kei , Shinozaki Koichiro , Shoaib Muhammad , Choudhary Rishabh C. , Aranalde Gabriel I. , Becker Lance B. , Molmenti Ernesto P. , Kruer James , Hatoum Anthony TITLE=Bilateral Spontaneous Pneumothorax in a COVID-19 and HIV-Positive Patient: A Case Report JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.698268 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.698268 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=

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.