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Pneumothorax Updated 4/2011

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BASICS

  • Description
  • Epidemiology
  • Risk Factors
  • General Prevention
  • Pathophysiology
  • Etiology
  • Associated Conditions

DIAGNOSIS

  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Tests
  • Differential Diagnosis

TREATMENT

  • Medication (Drugs)
  • Additional Treatment
  • Surgery
  • In-patient Considerations

Ongoing Care

  • Follow-Up Recommendations
  • Patient Education
  • Prognosis
  • Complications
The following is an excerpt....
BASICS
Description
  • Accumulation of air or gas between the parietal and visceral pleurae
  • Spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) may be primary (PSP) or secondary (SSP).
  • PSP occurs in healthy adults with no underlying lung disease (age 20s); rarely in patients >40 years of age.
  • SSP is a complication of underlying lung disease [e.g., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS), or tuberculosis (TB)].
  • Traumatic pneumothorax, both closed and open, may exist in tandem with hemothorax.
  • Tension pneumothorax (TP): Inspired air accumulates into the pleural space with no means of escape. More air increases lung compression and causes hypoxia and hemodynamic compromise.
  • Occult pneumothorax (OP) is not suspected on the basis of clinical exam or plain radiography ...

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See Also
Images >
123
Figure 102.1. Chest film demonstrating a pneumothorax on the right.Credit: From Harwood-Nuss A, MD FACEP, Wolfson AB, MD, FACEP, FACP, et al. The Clinical Practice of Emergency Medicine, 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001.
Procedures & PT >