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World J Virol. Jul 25, 2022; 11(4): 176-185
Published online Jul 25, 2022. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i4.176
Air leaks in COVID-19
Deven Juneja, Sahil Kataria, Omender Singh
Deven Juneja, Sahil Kataria, Omender Singh, Institute of Critical Care Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi 110017, India
Author contributions: Juneja D and Kataria S performed the majority of the writing, prepared the figures and tables, and performed data accusation; Singh O provided the input in writing the paper and reviewed the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Deven Juneja, DNB, Director, Institute of Critical Care Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, 1, Press Enclave Road, New Delhi 110017, India. devenjuneja@gmail.com
Received: February 2, 2022
Peer-review started: February 2, 2022
First decision: April 8, 2022
Revised: April 11, 2022
Accepted: June 27, 2022
Article in press: June 27, 2022
Published online: July 25, 2022
Processing time: 169 Days and 13.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Air leaks are an under-recognized and under-reported complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Air leaks may also develop in spontaneously breathing patients without any underlying risk factors. Because these leaks may be asymptomatic and may even develop weeks to months after the onset of disease, a high index of suspicion is warranted to ensure early diagnosis and timely intervention. Still, patients with air leaks have poorer overall outcomes with greater need for ventilatory support, longer length of hospitalizations, and higher mortality rates. A better understanding of its pathophysiology may help in preventing the development of air leaks and improve outcomes.