key: cord-0817594-c1vv1wev
authors: Cabanne, Eglantine; Revel, Marie-Pierre
title: Vanishing Paraseptal Emphysema after COVID-19
date: 2021-02-23
journal: Radiology
DOI: 10.1148/radiol.2021210339
sha: 27dcafd703e2202f1147b71381e82583ca666c79
doc_id: 817594
cord_uid: c1vv1wev

nan

A 77-year-old woman with a 40-pack-year smoking history was admitted to the intensive care unit for SARS Cov-2 pneumonia with an oxygen saturation of 88% on room air at presentation. She responded well to treatment with dexamethasone. The admission Chest CT scan demonstrated bilateral peripheral ground glass opacities in the right middle lobe with marked paraseptal emphysema in the lower lobes ( Figure) . Four months later, a repeat Chest CT showed that the paraseptal emphysematous changes had nearly resolved and had been replaced by a thin linear band of what may represent fibrosis (Figure) .

Resolution of large emphysematous bullae following infection has been previously reported and is referred as an "autobullectomy" (1,2). The hypothesis for why this occurs is that the airway inflammation caused by the infection is associated with the closure of the communication between the airways and the bullae. In this one case, perhaps the loss of this patient's paraseptal emphysema is related to the healing phase of this viral pneumonia with loss of the airways communicating with these regions. 

Autobullectomy in a Patient with COPD