Lung Abscess as a Delayed Complication in a COVID-19 Pneumonia Patient: A Case Report
Downloads
Introduction: In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic. Indonesia is one of the nations that is still dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. COVID-19 has several complications, including lung abscesses in extremely rare cases. We presented the first reported COVID-19 patient in Indonesia with a delayed lung abscess.
Case: A 30-year-old man presented to the hospital with breathlessness and tested positive for COVID-19. Chest X-ray revealed typical COVID-19 pneumonia. He was discharged after 16 days of hospitalization and was educated on using oxygen at home lest the breathlessness recurred. We planned to evaluate the patient's chest X-ray after 2 weeks of discharge. The follow-up chest X-ray revealed an air-fluid level in the upper lobe of the right lung, indicating a lung abscess. The patient was treated with antibiotics for 2–3 weeks. Clinical follow-up 4 weeks after the treatment revealed no symptoms, and chest X-ray showed significant improvement.
Conclusion: Lung abscess is one of the rare complications of COVID-19. A pulmonary infection creates an air-fluid level by forming a cavity in the lung parenchyma. Notably, this complication manifested 2 weeks after the patient was discharged. COVID-19 can have several unexpected complications, including lung abscesses. It is crucial to monitor patients after discharge for such complications, especially if they are symptomatic.
Perhimpunan Dokter Paru Indonesia (PDPI). Pedoman Tatalaksana COVID-19. 4th ed. Jakarta: Perhimpunan Dokter Paru Indonesia (PDPI), 2022. [WebPage]
Üzer F, Oner S, Cilli A. Pulmonary Abscess as a Complication of SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia. Libyan Int Medical Univ J; 07. Epub ahead of print 16 May 2022. [WebPage]
Sabbula BR, Rammohan G, Akella J. Lung Abscess. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2022. [PubMed]
Cowling B, Leung G. Epidemiological Research Priorities for Public Health Control of the Ongoing Global Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Outbreak. Eurosurveill; 25. Epub ahead of print 13 February 2020. [PubMed]
Carod-Artal F. Neurological Complications of Coronavirus and COVID-19. Rev Neurol 2020; 70: 311–322. [PubMed]
Beaucoté V, Plantefève G, Tirolien J-A, et al. Lung Abscess in Critically Ill Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients with Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A French Monocenter Retrospective Study. Crit Care Explor; 3, (2021). [PubMed] [WebPage]
Terpos E, Ntanasis-Stathopoulos I, Elalamy I, et al. Hematological Findings and Complications of COVID-19. Am J Hematol 2020; 95: 834–847. [PubMed]
Udugama B, Kadhiresan P, Kozlowski HN, et al. Diagnosing COVID-19: The Disease and Tools for Detection. ACS Nano 2020; 14: 3822–3835. [PubMed]
Duployez C, le Guern R, Tinez C, et al. Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Secreting Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia Complicating COVID-19. Emerg Infect Dis; 26. Epub ahead of print 16 April 2020. [PubMed]
Renaud-Picard B, Gallais F, Riou M, et al. Delayed Pulmonary Abscess Following COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Case Report. Respir Med Res 2020; 78: 100776. [PubMed]
Kalenchits T, Kabak S, Primak S, et al. Pulmonary Abscess as a Complication of COVID-19 Associated Pneumonia: A Clinical Case. Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases 2021; 99: 7–12. [WebPage]
Zamani N, Aloosh O, Ahsant S, et al. Lung Abscess as a Complication of COVID-19 Infection, A Case Report. Clin Case Rep 2021; 9: 1130–1134. [PubMed]
Simić V, Radovanović J. Lung Abscess as a Complication of COVID-19. Halo 194 2021; 27: 63–67. [WebPage]
Salehi S, Abedi A, Balakrishnan S, et al. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Systematic Review of Imaging Findings in 919 Patients. Am J Roentgenol 2020; 215: 87–93. [PubMed]
Kong W, Agarwal PP. Chest Imaging Appearance of COVID-19 Infection. Radiol Cardiothorac Imaging 2020; 2: e200028. [PubMed]
Hidron A, Quiceno W, Cardeño J, et al. Post-COVID-19 Necrotizing Pneumonia in Patients on Invasive Mechanical Ventilation. Infect Dis Rep 2021; 13: 835–842. [PubMed]
Teng E, Bennett L, Morelli T, et al. An Unusual Presentation of Pulmonary Embolism Leading to Infarction, Cavitation, Abscess Formation and Bronchopleural Fistulation. BMJ Case Rep 2018; 2018: bcr-2017-222859. [PubMed]
Carsana L, Sonzogni A, Nasr A, et al. Pulmonary Post-Mortem Findings in a Series of COVID-19 Cases from Northern Italy: A Two-Centre. Descriptive Study. Lancet Infect Dis; 20. Epub ahead of print 1 June 2020. [PubMed]
Zoumot Z, Bonilla M-F, Wahla A, et al. Pulmonary Cavitation – An Under-Recognized Late Complication of Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease. 2020. Epub ahead of print 20 August 2020. [WebPage]
Amaral L, Beraldo G, Brito V, et al. Lung Cavitation in COVID-19: Co-Infection Complication or Rare Evolution? Einstein (Sí£o Paulo); 18. Epub ahead of print 17 July 2020. [PubMed]
Selvaraj V, Dapaah-Afriyie K. Lung Cavitation due to COVID-19 Pneumonia. BMJ Case Rep 2020; 13: e237245. [PubMed]
Beltramo G, Cottenet J, Mariet A-S, et al. Chronic Respiratory Diseases are Predictors of Severe Outcome in COVID-19 Hospitalised Patients: A Nationwide Study. Eur Respir J 2021; 58: 2004474. [PubMed]
Copyright (c) 2022 Indah Rahmawati, Regia Anadhia Pinastika, Raditya Bagas Wicaksono
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
1. The journal allows the author to hold the copyright of the article without restrictions.
2. The journal allows the author(s) to retain publishing rights without restrictions.
3. The legal formal aspect of journal publication accessibility refers to Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (CC BY-SA).
4. The Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (CC BY-SA) license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the conditions that the creator is appropriately credited and that any derivative work is made available under "the same, similar or a compatible license”. Other than the conditions mentioned above, the editorial board is not responsible for copyright violation.