title: [Left hemothorax caused by aortic dissection].
abstract: Hemothorax is generally secondary to trauma, invasive thoracic surgery or specific lung of pleural disease. Hemothorax secondary to aortic dissection is rare. We report a case in a 69-year-old man with a history of smoking and hypertension. The patient was referred for exploration of a left pleural opacity with mediastinal widening. Pleural puncture produced a hemorrhagic fluid. The thoracic scan led to the diagnosis of Stanford type B aortic dissection. The patient was given antihypertensive treatment and now has a sixteen month follow-up. Aortic dissection can give rise to hemothorax, especially in a hypertensive subject with an anomalous aortic arch or mediastinal widening on the chest X-ray. Computed tomography generally gives the diagnosis. Treatment may be medical or surgical, depending on the site of the lesion and the severity of the clinical presentation. Aortic dissection is a cause of hemothorax, particularly in patients with favorable conditions or a suggestive radiological anomaly.
authors.affiliation: Service de Pneumologie, Pavillon 2, Hôpital de Pneumo-Phtisiologie Abderrahman-Mami, 2080 L'Ariana/Tunis, Tunisie. sophiabousnina@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bousnina
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zendah
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marniche
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Racil
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kachboura
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Megdiche
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chabbou
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000150:complications*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000150:complications*; D006491:Hemothorax / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male