111 - Incidence of air leak syndrome in pediatric patients with SARS-COV-2 pneumonia and respiratory failure.

Poster Number: 111
Publication Number: 111.307

Juan A. Cardenas, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, United States; Jose Cardenas, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States; Charlene Pringle, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States; jose Irazuzta, University of Florid, Jacksonville, FL, United States

Background: The association between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia and Air Leak syndrome (ALs) in children has not been investigated to the best of our knowledge. Air-leak syndromes, such as pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium, subcutaneous emphysema and pneumoperitoneum, have been observed in adult patients with respiratory failure secondary to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia with an incidence approximately ~ 1%. Our Aim was to describe the incidence of ALs in children with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia admitted with respiratory failure to a 20-bed pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at a 216 bed tertiary children hospital, Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

Objective: To describe the incidence of ALs in children with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia admitted with respiratory failure to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Setting: 20-bed PICU at a 216 bed tertiary children hospital.

Design/Methods: Retrospective search of EMR data from patients admitted to the PICU with diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia secondary to respiratory failure from March 1st, 2020, to December 31, 2021. Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 was done with real time reverse transcriptase PCR performed on nasopharyngeal swab. IRB approved research project.

Results: 52 patients with a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and respiratory failure were included in the study. The age of the patients ranged from 0 to 18 years old. 8 patients presented ALs which include: pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium, subcutaneous emphysema and pneumoperitoneum.Conclusion(s): There was a 15% of incidence of ALs in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and respiratory failure in our institution. Further work with a multicenter, age-severity of illness propensity score matching will be performed as an attempt to elucidate if SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia has an intrinsic pathobiology that predispose to ALs.
Juan Cardenas CVCV Juan Cardenas.pdf