title: Emergency treatment of life-threatening spontaneous haematopneumothorax.
abstract: We report two cases of spontaneous life-threatening haemopneumothorax, successfully treated by early thoracotomy. In the first patient no source of bleeding could be identified. The second patient presented bleeding from a torn vascular adhesion at the apex of the lung. The first patient benefited from early clot evacuation and in the second patient the bleeding could be controlled by electrocautery and a single suture of the bleeding vessel. These cases stress the need for early recognition and management of a potentially life-threatening event.
authors.affiliation: Respiratory Division, Academic Hospital University of Brussels (AZ-VUB), Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meysman
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Verhaeghe
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sacre
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vanhulle
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van de Maele
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vincken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D006468:Hemopneumothorax / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D011859:Radiography; D013908:Thoracotomy