Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to considerable morbidity and mortality across the world. Lung transplant is a viable option for a few with COVID-19-related lung disease. Whom and when to transplant has been the major question impacting the transplant community given the novelty of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We describe a pitfall of presumed prolonged shedding of SARS-CoV-2 in a patient with COVID-19 associated acute respiratory distress syndrome leading to COVID-19 pneumonia after lung transplant. This raises concerns that replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 virus can persist for months post-infection and can lead to re-infection of grafts in the future.
Keywords: BAL, bronchoalveolar lavage; BSL-3, Biosafety level-3; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; CP, convalescent plasma; CT, computed tomography; LT, lung transplant; NPS, nasopharyngeal swab; RT-PCR, reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; VV-ECMO, veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
© 2023 The Authors.