title: Pneumothorax after reexpansion pulmonary edema: experience with 2 patients.
abstract: Thoracentesis is one of the most commonly performed medical procedures with an excellent safety profile. We describe 2 patients, both of whom developed 2 very rare complications after image-guided thoracentesis. Both patients developed clinically relevant reexpansion pulmonary edema (RPE). Within 2 weeks of their first thoracentesis, both patients underwent a second thoracentesis, which was complicated by a large pneumothorax requiring drainage by tube thoracostomy. Pneumothorax and RPE are independent rare complications (<1%) that occur after thoracentesis. The development of these unusual complications in the same sequence in these 2 patients suggests that there may be a causal relationship between pneumothorax and RPE after sequential thoracenteses. Further investigations are necessary to better describe the underlying pathophysiology and mechanism that may explain this association.
authors.affiliation: *Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA †Interventional Pulmonology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center ‡Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berkowitz
authors.forename: Saleh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alazemi
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Majid
authors.forename: Gaetane
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ernst