Background: Spontaneous pneumothorax is a rare complication seen in patients of COVID-19 pneumonia. The

risk factors associated with this complication and its incidence remain unknown largely. We herein, review and

present the incidence, clinical characteristics and outcomes of spontaneous pneumothorax in 1767 patients

admitted in three COVID treatment tertiary care centers in Lahore.

Study Design: Retrospective study

Place and Duration of Study: Services Institute of Medical Sciences Lahore and Bahria International Hospital

Lahore from 15thApril 2020 to 15thMay 2021.

Methodology: One thousandseven hundred and sixty-seven patients who were diagnosed with a spontaneous

pneumothorax were enrolled. Clinical characteristics of these cases were also reviewed and recorded.

Results: One thousand and five hundred patients had positive RT PCR from nasopharyngeal swab. Eleven

(.62%) cases of COVID-19 patients who developed spontaneous pneumothorax were identified. The initial HRCT

imaging showed typical and diffuse bilateral ground-glass opacities and consolidations, mainly in their peripheral,

posterior and basal lung regions. Three patients had pneumothorax late in the course of disease after they were

discharged home. We had only one mortality among those (11) cases and that was also not related to the

pneumothorax directly but to development of sepsis and multi-organ failure.

Conclusion: Spontaneous pneumothorax is a rare complication seen in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Keywords: Pneumothorax, COVID-19, Spontaneous pneumothorax, Lung injury, Barotrauma, Pneumomediastinum