Two cases of spontaneous hemopeumothorax
Baba, K.; Nagao, K.; Matsuda, M.; Nishimura, R.; Matsuoka, Y.; Yamashita, Y.; Fukuda, M.; Higuchi, A.; Matsumoto, H.; Murakami, A.; Tanaka, F.; Imamura, F.
Kyobu Geka. Japanese Journal of Thoracic Surgery 51(11): 974-977
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-5252 PMID: 9789431 Document Number: 492998
We experienced two cases of spontaneous hemopeumothorax. One case was a 17-year-old male with a complaint of back pain. A chest tube for rapid pleural evacuation disclosed hemorrhage as much as 3,000 ml, with drainage volume being gradually decreased. He needed about two month's admission because of complication of pyothorax. The other case was a 46-year-old male with a complaint of chest pain. Chest X-P gave the diagnosis of right hemopeumothorax. Thirty minutes later, he became shock, and five hours later, we performed an emergency intervention of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Bleeding site of a funicular structure from the parietal pleura was stopped by clipping, with excellent postoperative results. Spontaneous hemopeumothorax is often indicated for early surgical intervention because of association with a high risk of hemorrhagic shock. In such a case, VATS is very helpful.