The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has created a worldwide pandemic. Many patients with this infection have an asymptomatic or mild illness, but a small percentage of patients require hospitalization and intensive care. Patients with respiratory tract involvement have a spectrum of presentations that range from scattered ground-glass infiltrates to diffuse infiltrates with consolidation. Patients with the latter radiographic presentation have severe hypoxemia and usually require mechanical ventilation. In addition, some patients develop multiorgan failure, deep venous thrombi with pulmonary emboli, and cytokine storm syndrome. The respiratory management of these patients should focus on using low tidal volume ventilation with low intrathoracic pressures. Some patients have significant recruitable lung and may benefit from higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) levels and/or prone positioning. There is no well-established anti-viral treatment for this infection; the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma and remdesivir for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. In addition, randomized trials have demonstrated that dexamethasone improves outcomes in patients on mechanical ventilators or on oxygen. There are ongoing trials of other drugs which have the potential to moderate the acute inflammatory state seen in some of these patients. These patients often need prolonged high-level intensive care. Hospitals are confronted with significant challenges in patient management, supply management, health care worker safety, and health care worker burnout.
Background: Primary malignant tumors of the sternum are rare among bone tumors. Even with radical resection, the survival rate for sternal tumors remains low. Resection often results in significant bone defects in the chest wall, and reconstruction must provide adequate protection for pulmonary and respiratory structures. Flexible materials have historically been used for sternal reconstructions following failed sternotomies in cardiac surgery. Although these have had some success, they fail to provide adequate support for patients undergoing reconstruction secondary to tumor resection, who are otherwise healthy and active. Although rigid materials offer greater protection, they frequently cause chronic pain and respiratory complications. More recently, bone grafts have been used to reconstruct sternal defects, and the limited published reports are promising. Methods: We present the case of a patient diagnosed with an extramedullary solitary bone plasmacytoma who underwent a sternal resection and reconstruction with an autogenous bone graft taken from the iliac crest and secured in place with 5 plates (3 sternal and 2 mandibular). Results: At 9-month follow-up, bone marrow biopsy showed no evidence of multiple myeloma. X-ray, computed tomography, and Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) scans confirmed graft stability, and the patient has returned to normal activities. Conclusions: Sternal resection and reconstruction is an effective method for treating extramedullary solitary plasmacytoma when radiation is ineffective. In cases of significant segmental defects, iliac crest bone graft may be a viable option for repairing sternal defects following tumor resection.
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