Minimally invasive surgery in persistent pneumothorax and pneumocystis carinii infection
Stobernack, A.; Bach, P.; Kunze, W.P.
Der Chirurg; Zeitschrift für Alle Gebiete der Operativen Medizen 65(8): 732-735
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0009-4722 PMID: 7956543 Document Number: 424802
The most frequent pulmological complication of AIDS is pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), which in 2% of cases will cause a spontaneous pneumothorax. Every AIDS patient who develops a pneumothorax is highly suspicious for a pneumocystis carinii pneumonia too. We describe the case of an AIDS patient who suffered from pneumothorax caused by PCP. Conventional tube thoracostomy with continuous suction and tetracycline pleurodesis were unsuccessful. The patient recovered however after resection of PCP cysts in the apical upper lobe and talcum pleurodesis by means of minimally invasive surgery.