Beyond the Virus: Tracheal Stenosis as a Sequela of Severe COVID-19 – A Case Report

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has haunted the globe with its wide array of presentations, for over 2 years now. We present a case of tracheal narrowing – a presentation that may have an association with the pathology of the causative virus.

CASE REPORT: A 57 year old female, known case of congestive heart failure and hypertension, presented with increasing shortness of breath. She had a history of recent hospital admission for congestive heart failure exacerbation, which included several days of intubation. Diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia, the patient was admitted and a CT scan ordered, which revealed bilateral ground glass opacities – a finding characteristic of the disease. In addition, the trachea was found to be narrowed. This was confirmed and treated with rigid bronchoscopy, which greatly improved the patient’s condition.

CONCLUSION: Diagnostic testing modalities are limited in their abilities to identify COVID-19. This may affect management protocols. We propose establishing a scoring system, using a combination of symptoms and laboratory investigations as scoring criteria, to help not only identify patients in need of therapy but also to stratify disease severity. Our case represents a unique and rather rare finding, which may possibly hint towards COVID-19.