SARS-CoV-2 pneumomediastinum

A proposed pneumomediastinum classification

Abstract

Pneumomediastinum is a rare complication of viral pneumonias, however, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, case reports of SARS-CoV-2 pneumomediastinum have increased. This type of pneumomediastinum is referred to as spontaneous pneumomediastinum.

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is the presence of air in the mediastinal cavity without any apparent cause, but paradoxically, the spontaneous group is the one with the highest triggering cause, therefore, we believe that the current classification is not consistent with the meaning.

We present five cases of pneumomediastinum due to SARS-CoV-2 and propose a classification for pneumomediastinum. These are the first reports published in our country.