Protracted course of coronavirus disease with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome: a case report

Abstract Background Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is a growing concern worldwide About 5% of COVID-19 cases require intensive care However, the optimal treatment for respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients is yet to be determined Case presentation A 79-year-old man with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19 was admitted to our intensive care unit Prone ventilation was effective in treating the patient?s hypoxemia Further, the patient received lung protective ventilation with a tidal volume of 6?8 mg/kg (predicted body weight) However, the patient?s respiratory failure did not improve and he died 16 days after admission because of multiple organ failure Serial chest computed tomography revealed a change from ground-glass opacity to consolidation pattern in both lungs Conclusions We report a protracted case of COVID-19 in a critically ill patient in Japan Although prone ventilation may contribute to treating hypoxemia, its efficacy in preventing mortality from COVID-19 is unknown