Clinical Reviews of Spontaneous Hemopneumothorax.
- Author:
Jung Tae KIM
1
;
Woon Ha CHANG
Author Information
1. Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Korea. woonha.chang@samsung.net
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Hemothorax;
Pneumothorax;
Thoracoscopy;
Fibrothorax
- MeSH:
Chest Pain;
Dyspnea;
Follow-Up Studies;
Hemopneumothorax*;
Hemothorax;
Humans;
Male;
Pleurodesis;
Pneumothorax;
Pulmonary Edema;
Rare Diseases;
Retrospective Studies;
Shock;
Thoracic Surgery;
Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted;
Thoracoscopy;
Thoracostomy;
Thoracotomy
- From:The Korean Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
2007;40(9):613-616
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Spontaneous hemopneumothorax is a rare disease and can be life threatening; it occurs in 1~12% of patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. We analyzed clinical reviews and treatments, as well as complications of spontaneous hemopneumothorax patients that were treated to aid in the optimal management. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We studied retrospectively 30 cases with spontaneous hemopneumothorax for 11 years, from 1995 to 2006, at our hospital. RESULT: All the patients were male and most of the patients were under 30 years. The sides with the disorder were as follows: right in 15 cases and left in 15 cases. Patients showed mostly initial symptoms of chest pain, dyspnea and hypovolemic shock. All patients underwent a closed thoracostomy and 27 patients underwent surgery. Chemical pleurodesis was performed because of postoperative persistent air leakage and one case was treated in the ICU due to re-expansion pulmonary edema. There were no other complications such as fibrothorax seen during the follow-up periods. CONCLUSION: The most important finding is proper initial management, as the spontaneous hemopneumothorax can potentially lead to a life-threatening condition. Recently, video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is common procedure for general thoracic surgery and overcomes the weak points of performing a thoracotomy. The results of VATS are encouraging.
