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C31 Pneumothorax. Objectives:. What is Pneumothorax? Pleural Anatomy and Function Signs and Symptoms Types of Pneumothorax Imaging Required Treatment Options. What is Pneumothorax?.
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Objectives: • What is Pneumothorax? • Pleural Anatomy and Function • Signs and Symptoms • Types of Pneumothorax • Imaging Required • Treatment Options
What is Pneumothorax? • Definition: Air or gas in the pleural cavity results in a condition called pneumothorax, wherein air or gas pressure in the pleural cavity may cause the lung to collapse.1 • The partial or complete collapse of the lung can result in immediate and severe shortness of breath and chest pain.1 • Pneumothorax can be caused by trauma or pathological conditions that cause a spontaneous rupture of a weakened area of the lung.1
What is the Pleura? • Pleura: Serous membrane covering the lung. • Two layers: • Inner Visceral- Covering over the lung itself. • Outer Parietal- Covers the inner surface of the thoracic wall. • Between the two layers is the pleural cavity where serous fluid is located.2 http://www.interactive-biology.com/3331/how-do-we-breathe-lungs-and-pleura/
Pleural function: • The pleural fluid acts as a lubricant of the two pleura surfaces allowing the layers to slide smoothly over each other during respiration.2 • The surface tension allows the lung surface to stay touching the thoracic wall creating a seal between the two surfaces.2 http://respiratorytherapycave.blogspot.com/2011/09/pleurisy-and-pleural-effusions.html
Sudden chest pain • Tachypnea- Abnormally rapid breathing. • Tachycardia- Condition that makes your heart beat more than 100 times per minute. • Unilateral decreased/Absent breath sounds • Decreased oxygen saturation • Low blood pressure3 Signs and symptoms:
Types of Pneumothorax: • Primary/Secondary Spontaneous • Tension • Traumatic
Primary Vs. Secondary • Primary: • This type of collapsed lung may occur for no apparent reason, because it takes place without any underlying lung disease. • Secondary: • A collapsed lung may occur because of underlying lung diseases, such as chronic obstruction, pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, and other conditions.4
Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax: • Spontaneous: Not caused by an injury such as a rib fracture. • Primary spontaneous pneumothoraces are likely due to the formation of small sacs of air or blebs in the lung tissue that rupture.3 https://www.thoracicgroup.com/conditions/spontaneous-pneumothorax/ • This causes air to leak into the pleural space and cause pressure on the lungs with potential to collapse.3
Secondary Spontaneous Pneumothorax: • Most patients will require admission to the hospital and require a chest tube for drainage.3 • This form of pneumothorax may evolve into tension pneumothorax.3 https://www.medicinenet.com/pneumothorax/article.htm
Tension Pneumothorax: • This is frequently the result of a “check valve” mechanism that facilitates the ingress of gas in to the pleural space during inspiration, but blocks the egress of gas from the pleural space during expiration.5 Tension: Increased pressure in the pleural space. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2653738
Tension Pneumothorax: • Gas accumulates with the build-up of pressure within the pleural space and this could eventually cause respiratory failure.5 • What to look for: • Compression of lung • Tracheal deviation • Diminished lung markings • Mediastinal shift • Depression of hemithorax5 https://www.rpneumothorax_fig9_313791409esearchgate.net/figure/11-Chest-x-ray-PA-view-showing-tension-
Traumatic Pneumothorax: • Trauma can result from penetration to the chest wall, or blunt trauma to the chest.6 • Penetration: stab wound • Blunt Trauma: broken rib • They may be classified as: • “Open” or “Closed” http://www.emsandbox.com/blunt-trauma-arrest-core-content/
Trauma Pneumothorax: • Open: Ambient air or “outside air”, enters the pleural space during inspiration in the form of a sucking wound.5 • Closed: A closed pneumothorax is when the chest wall remains intact.5 https://www.orthobullets.com/knee-and-sports/3122/pulmonary-conditions-in-athletes
Diagnostic Imaging: Chest Radiographs that can be done: • Supine • Upright • Lateral Decubitus http://www.clker.com/clipart-x-ray-4.html
Supine Radiograph: • ED patients are usually supine and a small pneumothorax float anteriorly in the supine position, and if it is not big enough to wrap around the lateral edge of the lung, it may be missed.7 http://www.wikiradiography.net/page/The+Supine+Pneumothorax Gas will accumulate in a subpulmonic location. Gas in this location outlines the anterior pleural reflection, the anterolateral border of the mediastinum and the costophrenic sulcus creating a “deep sulcus” sign.5 http://www.wikiradiography.net/page/The+Supine+Pneumothorax
Upright Radiograph: • In an upright patient with pneumothorax, most of the gas accumulates in an apicolateral location.5 http://www.wikiradiography.net/page/The+Supine+Pneumothorax https://pmj.bmj.com/content/79/928/106 • Bilateral pneumothorax: Arrows indicate the visceral pleural line on left and a small apical area of gas in the pleural space on right.8
Inspiration Vs. Expiration https://radiopaedia.org/cases/pneumothorax-inspiratory-and-expiratory-x-rays-3?lang=us • Inspiratory and expiratory projections are one technique that can be used to make a pneumothorax more obvious. Expiration results in the lung reducing in volume, becoming more dense and making the pneumothorax easier to identify.9 • The pneumothorax can more easily be seen on expiration due to the visceral pleural line being highlighted.
Lateral Decubitus: • Detection of a pneumothorax through radiographs is best seen in the lateral decubitus position.5 • When viewing the image, the visceral line appears straight or convex toward the chest wall.5 • Most of the pleural gas accumulates in the non-dependent lateral location. 5 https://radiopaedia.org/images/7993509
CT Imaging: • CT scanning is the most accurate imaging modality for the detection of pneumothorax.5 https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/ct-scanner?sort=mostpopular&mediatype=illustration&phrase=ct%20scanner
CT Cross-Sectional • In trauma, where it may not be possible to perform an upright film, chest radiographs may miss up to a third of pneumothoraces, while CT remains very sensitive.6 https://www.revolvy.com/page/Pneumothorax
CT Coronal View • CT with the identification of underlying lung lesion: an apical bulla on the right side. https://www.revolvy.com/page/Pneumothorax Things such as small amounts of intrapleural gas, atypical collections of pleural gas, and loculated pneumothoraces can be seen using CT over radiographs.5
Treatments: • Observation: If the pneumothorax is very small and there are no symptoms, the lung may re-inflate on its own. The patient should be observed closely for signs of respiratory or cardiac problems.4 • Needle aspiration: A needle attached to a syringe is inserted into the chest cavity to remove air via suction.4 • Percutaneous chest tube drainage: If the pneumothorax is large or if the patient has trouble breathing, a small plastic tube may be inserted into the pleural space to remove air. The collapsed lung will re-inflate as the pressure on the lung decreases.4
Lets Recap! Proceed to Quiz
Which Type of Pneumothorax is this? • Tension • Primary Spontaneous • Traumatic
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Type of Pneumothorax that involves Blunt Trauma? • Open Traumatic Pneumothorax • Tension Pneumothorax • Closed Traumatic Pneumothorax • Spontaneous Pneumothorax
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What is the best form of imaging for identifying a pneumothorax? X-ray MRI Nuclear Medicine CT
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Primary or secondary? This type of collapsed lung may occur for no apparent reason, because it takes place without any underlying lung disease. Primary Secondary
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What is something to look for on a tension pneumothorax? Diminished lung markings Mediastinal shift Tracheal deviation All of the above
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Conclusion: • Pneumothorax refers to gas in the pleural space. • Depending on severity, there are three types of pneumothorax: Primary/Secondary Spontaneous, Tension, and Traumatic. • X-ray and CT have different views to diagnose if a pneumothorax is present. • The main feature of a Pneumothorax on a chest radiograph is a white visceral pleural line.
References • Lampignano, J. P., & Kendrick, L. E. (n.d.). Bontrager's Textbook of Radiographic Positioning and Related Anatomy (9th ed.) • Charalampidis, C. (2015, February 7). Physiology of the pleural space. Retrieved March 01, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4332077/ • M. (2017, April 16). SPONTANEOUS VS. TENSION PNEUMOTHORAX. Retrieved March 01, 2019, from http://medicinespecifics.com/spontaneous-vs-tension-pneumothorax/ • A. (2013, October 3). Collapsed Lung (Pneumothorax). Retrieved March 01, 2019, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15304-collapsed-lung-pneumothorax/management-and-treatment • Stark, P. (2017, March 1). Imaging of pneumothorax. Retrieved February 13, 2019, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/imaging-of-pneumothorax?search=imaging-of-pneumothorax &source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=1#H2 • Pneumothorax. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2019, from https://www.revolvy.com/page/Pneumothorax • Chanana, L. (2016, November 14). Deep Sulcus Sign - Pneumothorax. Retrieved March 12, 2019, from http://emdidactic.blogspot.com/2016/11/deep-sulcus-sign-pneumothorax.html • Peters, F., & Cathomas, G. (2003). Simultaneous bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax in a patient with recurrent, extraosseous multiple myeloma. Retrieved March 12, 2019, from https://pmj.bmj.com/content/79/928/106 • H. K. (2005-2019). Pneumothorax: Inspiratory and expiratory x-rays. Retrieved March 12, 2019, from https://radiopaedia.org/cases/pneumothorax-inspiratory-and-expiratory-x-rays-3?lang=us