title: Case Report: haemothorax due to hepatocellular carcinoma rupture successfully controlled by transcatheter arterial embolization.
abstract: A 64-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with multiple hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions in the liver and lung. On the seventh hospital day, a chest radiograph showed a marked increase in right pleural effusion. A thoracentesis revealed a haemothorax. Despite repeated pleural taps and blood transfusions, the patient's clinical status worsened and he developed severe dyspnoea. An inferior phrenic arteriography on the 19th hospital day showed a tumour growing over the diaphragm into the right thoracic cavity, suggesting a tumour rupture. A transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) of the inferior phrenic artery successfully controlled the bleeding and improved the haemothorax. There was no rebleeding; however, the patient died of advanced HCC 3 months later. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a haemothorax secondary to a ruptured HCC that was treated successfully with TAE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Fukuoka Higashi Hospital, Koga, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masumoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Motomura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uchimura
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Morotomi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morita
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications*; D003964:Diaphragm / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous