ABSTRACT

Predicting Air-Leak (AL) syndrome and knowing its risk factors in critically ill patients with Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) can reduce morbidity and mortality. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the thorax computed tomography severity score (CT-SS) can predict the development of AL.

COVID-19 patients were divided into two groups based on whether they developed AL syndrome. CT-SS was calculated for all patients. The predictive power of CT-SS for the development of AL syndrome and possible risk factors for AL were investigated.

AL syndrome developed in 52 out of 272 patients included in the study (19.1%). The median CT-SS was significantly higher in the AL group. The CT-SS value in the AL group was 19 (2-25), while it was 13 (1-25) in the non-AL group (p-value <0.001). CT-SS was found to have good diagnostic performance in predicting the occurrence of AL (p<0.001). When comparing the ICU mortality rates of the groups, it was 42.3% in the non-AL group and 88.5% in the AL group.

CT-SS may have predictive potential for the development of AL syndrome associated with COVID-19. However, further studies are needed in this area.