Pleural diseases and COVID-19: ubi fumus, ibi ignis

More than 45 000 articles in the PubMed database and around 3200 studies registered in ClinicalTrials.gov , of which greater than half are clinical trials, are the result of ongoing and relentless research into the global pandemic nature of an acute respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which made its initial appearance in December 2019 in China. As of 28 August 2020, the total confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surpasses 24.5 million, with more than 830 000 global deaths [1]. An estimated 40% to 45% of persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 will remain asymptomatic, but they can transmit the virus to others for an extended period, perhaps longer than 14 days [2]. The primary presentation of symptomatic infection is that of an influenza-like illness or viral pneumonia, with about 20% of these patients developing severe or critical manifestations [3]. There is both direct and circumstantial evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the generation of pleural effusions and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax/pneumomediastinum https://bit.ly/3gZqA7Z