Spontaneous haemopneumothorax.
An 18-year-old man presented with a 2 day history of breathlessness and left-sided chest pain, with no preceding trauma. He had no medical history of note, and had never smoked. He was in hypovolaemic shock, with Hb of 8.1 g/dl, and received fluid resuscitation. Chest x-ray (CXR) revealed left-sided hydropneumothorax, with the effusion of blood-consistency on CT thorax. Tube thoracostomy drained 1.7 litres of blood immediately. He remained haemodynamically stable after 4 units of blood transfusion on the first day with post-transfusion Hb 11 g/dl. Following cardiothoracic surgeon advice, tube was removed on day 5 draining total of 3.5 litres, with good response clinically and radiologically. Patient was well when followed up at 1 week after hospital discharge, with no recurrence and complete re-expansion of left lung on CXR.
Respiratory Medicine Department, QE2 Hospital, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK.
Katie
K
Chong
Sheharyar A
SA
Qureshi
Gabriela
G
Badea
She
S
Lok
D000293:Adolescent; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D004322:Drainage; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D006468:Hemopneumothorax / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012769:Shock / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed