Polyserositis as a Post–Covid-19 Complication
Polyserositis as a Post–Covid-19 Complication

INTRODUCTION Polyserositis is described as inflammation with effusion of more than one serous membrane. There is very little published literature linking it to COVID-19 as a late complication.

OBJECTIVES Present and describe a case of post–COVID-19 polyserositis.

METHODS Data were collected from the medical record of a female patient admitted for fainting spells and marked weakness. The patient underwent a clinical evaluation, additional hematology, imaging and histopathology tests, and a surgical procedure.

The new index, called the abdominal adipose deposit index, was obtained by multiplying the subcutaneous fat thickness by visceral fat thickness, both measured by ultrasound. A cutoff point was established that facilitated discernment of an unhealthy phenotype: normal weight but metabolically obese, a cardiometabolic risk factor.

RESULTS We present the case of a 57-year-old female patient admitted to hospital for fainting spells and marked weakness, four months after COVID-19 infection. She also had a history of obesity, asthma, type 2 diabetes mellitus and a cholecystectomy in December 1992 for gallstones. Clinical assessment revealed pericardial effusion and bilateral pleural effusion, in addition to a tumor-like lesion outside the pericardium, proximal to the right ventricular wall. A surgical procedure and findings from additional tests led to diagnoses of thymic remnants and polyserositis.

CONCLUSIONS This is a case of polyserositis in a post–COVID-19 patient. After other causes of polyserositis were ruled out, and since there is a likely physiological and pathogenic mechanism operating between the two diseases, the polyserositis was determined to be a late complication of COVID-19. To date, it is the second case reported in the world and the first reported in Cuba.

KEYWORDS COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, colchicine, pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, pericarditis, thoracoscopy, Cuba

Read More