Acute respiratory distress syndrome after treating ipsilateral femoral shaft and neck fracture with reamed intramedullary nailing in an asymptomatic COVID-19 patient

• Published in: SAGE open medical case reports 2023-01, Vol.11, p.2050313X231168290
• Main Authors: Jun, Chungmu, Cho, Young-Jae, Quinn, Patrick Michael, Song, Suk-Kyoon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asymptomatic; Case Report; COVID-19; Fractures; Respiratory distress syndrome
• ISSN: 2050-313X; 2050-313X
• DOI: 10.1177/2050313X231168290

Currently, it is quite difficult to determine the best timeframe of operative treatment, as well as conduct surgery on asymptomatic COVID-19 patients due to misunderstandings and unawareness of the patient’s inflammation state. Caution needs to be taken in specific patient cohorts, particularly those with femoral shaft fractures, who are more likely to develop diseases like acute respiratory distress syndrome after a procedure like intramedullary nailing. In this case report, a 36-year-old patient suffered a motorcycle accident in which he suffered an ipsilateral femoral shaft and neck fracture of the hip. The patient’s screening test for COVID-19 was positive before admission. Because the patient did not display any COVID-19-related symptoms upon arrival to the hospital, surgical fixation with a reamed intramedullary femoral nail was performed. Despite having a successful post-surgical outcome, the patient was diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome 36 h after surgery, recovering fully after about 2 weeks. To prevent subsequent complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome in a high inflammatory state patient like COVID-19, the respiratory status and the degree of systemic inflammation should be considered precisely when determining the surgical timing and method.