Introduction
Since the end of 2019, severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide. More than 1 billion people have been affected, and more than 2.5 million people have died1.
Although it is a rare complication, some cases of pneumothorax in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been reported. Generally, barotrauma of the ventilator is considered to be a well-known cause of pneumothorax, with diffuse alveolar injury due to pneumonia contributing to it. In February 2020, under the governance of Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, we started the treatment of COVID-19 patients, and in May 2020, we made a field hospital for COVID-19 patients. Patients who needed intubation were sent to another hospital that treated severely ill patients. This is the first report on the incidence and clinical features of patients with pneumothorax among non-ventilated patients with COVID-19, excluding the influence of a ventilator.