| Popis: |
A hemodynamically stable hypoxic COVID-19 48-years old male patient was brought to the ED because of dyspnoea. Complains of fever, dry cough, malaise, swollen neck lymph nodes. Denies chest pain, loss of consciousness. Saturation O2 85%, heart rate 115/min, blood pressure 115/85 mmHg, afebrile. The images show free air in the mediastinum without pneumothorax expanding to the neck. What the patient thought were lymph nodes, was in fact subcutaneous emphysema. This puts the patient at high risk of deterioration and escalation of care. The patient was stable when placed on oxygen via non-rebreather mask 8 liters per minute but placing the patient on high-flow nasal cannula could potentially worsen pneumomediastinum and provoke cardiac compression or pneumothorax. |
