Risk factors for development of pneumothorax in patients with COVID-19 at a government health facility in North India: An exploratory case-control study

To explore risk factors for the development of pneumothorax in patients with COVID-19 during the second COVID-19 wave at a northern Indian level 2 health facility. Patients suffering from SARS-CoV-2 infection during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India (January -June 2021) at a tertiary care teaching hospital and level 2 COVID care facility were included. Cases who suffered from SARS-CoV-2 infection but did not develop pneumothorax were selected as matched controls. All details regarding demographics, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcome were recorded in a semi-structured proforma. Eleven patients with COVID-19 developed pneumothorax during the study period and 40 controls were included in the study. Five cases were smokers in comparison to only two in the control group. Type 2 diabetes mellitus was the most common comorbidity among both groups. Median change in C-reactive protein overall for cases and controls were around +14.0 and −41.9 and was statistically significant. Inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein have significant correlations with the development of pneumothorax in COVID-19-infected patients. There is no sex predisposition to develop pneumothorax among patients with COVID-19.