Postoperative COVID-19 pneumonia in an asymptomatic patient: a case report

The recent outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China has rapidly spread throughout the world and there are many reports of symptoms ranging from malaise to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by this in-fection. However, few reports have been discussed surgical outcomes in COVID-19 patients. In this report, we described a case of an elderly female developed with postoperative pulmonary complications after uneventful elective minor surgery. The patient was asymptomatic before the operation with no history of cough or fever. After surgery, the patient developed respiratory distress and chest radiological imaging revealed bilateral ground-glass opacities. It seems any type of surgeries requiring local anesthesia or general anesthesia may contribute to worsening outcomes in patients with covid19.