Abstract

AREN, Leandro; MAYER, Germán F  and  HERNANDEZ, Julián. Heterotopic Ossification in COVID-19: An Association Not Yet Documented? Two-case report. Rev. am. med. respir. [online]. 2023, vol.23, n.4, pp.327-332. ISSN 1852-236X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.56538/ramr.npeq9628.

Heterotopic ossification (OH) is defined as the formation of bone tissue in areas of soft tissue where there is usually no bone. It is a rare/underdiagnosed pathology usually related to paralysis and immobilization during the critical course of trauma, neurological lesions, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), surgery, or major burns. In the course of the SARS-CoV2 (new COVID-19) pandemic, cases of critically ill patients with OH were reported, interpreting that the magnitude of the inflammatory reaction, possible effect of the virus itself, and long periods of immobilization while the critical stage was taking place could be the determinants of this clinical entity.

During the hospitalization period of the cases that we will describe below, the occupational percentage was 166 % and 200 % and the workload of the nursing staff, measured by TISS-28, was 72 points, exceeding almost twice the possibilities labor. At the same time, motor rehabilitation by the Physiotherapy team was postponed due to the need to address urgent circumstances such as optimization of ventilatory support and participation in decubitus change maneuvers. In this way, we interpret that the great work overload that occurred during the pandemic conditioned an inadequate provision of early mobilization, resulting in a higher prevalence of OH in severe post-COVID patients when compared with ARDS due to other causes.

We present two cases of HO in patients who underwent ARDS due to SARS-CoV2 at times of high workload.

Case 1: A 48-year-old man, who was admitted to the ICU due to severe Pneumonia (NAC) due to COVID-19. History of obesity. He required 31 days of Mechanical Ventilation Assistance (AVM), 4 cycles of prone position (192 total hours), tracheostomy (TQT) on day 18, 23 days of neuromuscular blockers and 24 of sedation. Active-assisted mobilization begins on day 24 with a Medical Research Council (MRC) score of 38/60. A total of 52 days of hospitalization. Six months after discharge, bilateral HO of the hip was diagnosed.

Case 2: 58-year-old patient, admitted to the ICU with severe NAC due to COVID-19. History of Hypertension and Obesity. She required 39 days of AVM, two cycles of prone position (60 total hours), TQT on day 7. A total of 45 days in the ICU and 111 in the hospital. A year after discharge, bilateral OH of the hip was diagnosed.

Keywords : COVID-19; Ossification; Heterotopic.

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