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Hemothorax and Pneumothorax

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Textbook of Emergency General Surgery

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Abstract

Hemothorax and pneumothorax contribute significantly to morbidity in trauma and can also occur from medical causes. Supplemental to clinical suspicion, a variety of imaging modalities such as chest X-ray, ultrasound, and computed tomography can aid in confirming the diagnosis. The pre-hospital care of these injuries is usually limited to chest seals and needle decompression. Once formally diagnosed, management may depend on clinical symptoms, size of the hemothorax or pneumothorax, as well as its etiology. Initial therapy typically involves evacuation of air and/or blood from the chest with tube thoracostomy, which can also be the definitive treatment in a large percentage of cases. Large unresolving hemothoraces and spontaneous pneumothoraces may require operative intervention in the form of a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for evacuation of hemothorax and bleb resection with pleurodesis, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    David A. Spain, Ara Ko & Jamie Tung

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  1. David A. Spain
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Correspondence to David A. Spain .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. General, Emergency and Trauma Surgery Dept., Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy

    Federico Coccolini

  2. General and Emergency Surgery Dept., Bufalini Hospital, Cesena, Italy

    Fausto Catena

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Spain, D.A., Ko, A., Tung, J. (2023). Hemothorax and Pneumothorax. In: Coccolini, F., Catena, F. (eds) Textbook of Emergency General Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22599-4_47

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22599-4_47

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