Simultaneous bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax: Case report

Emile Hay, Moshe Sternfeld, Amer Rashid, Sergio Kunichevsky, Abraham Eliraz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

A 22-year-old previously healthy male was admitted to the emergency department for chest pain and dyspnea of 1-day's duration. He had a history of heavy smoking. The patient was cyanotic, agitated, and severely dyspneic. Lung auscultation revealed severe diffuse bronchospasm and equally diminished breath sounds on both sides. Nasotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation were performed shortly after admission due to acute respiratory failure. Simultaneous bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax was diagnosed from the chest x-ray, and chest tube drainage was immediately performed bilaterally. Computerized tomography of the chest 1 month later showed diffuse emphysematous bullae of the lungs. The case presented here should increase physicians' awareness of this rare form of spontaneous pneumothorax and its diverse manifestations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)50-52
Number of pages3
JournalAmerican Journal of Emergency Medicine
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1992
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • bilateral spontaneous
  • pneumothorax

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Emergency Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Simultaneous bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax: Case report'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this