Hemothorax Causes and Risks:
The most common cause of hemothorax is chest injury. Other causes include cancer , a defect of the blood clotting mechanism, thoracic surgery, or pulmonary (lung) infarction (tissue death). In a chest injury, a rib may lacerate lung tissue or an artery, causing blood to collect in the pleural space. A large hemothorax is often the cause of shock in a trauma victim. Hemothorax may also be associated with pneumothorax ( collapsed lung ). Depending upon the amount of blood in the pleural cavity, respiratory failure can result. The incidence is 6 out of 100,000 people.
Prevention:
Use safety measures (such as seat belts) to avoid injury. Depending on the cause, a hemothorax may not be preventable.
Symptoms:
Signs and Tests:
A physical examination reveals decreased or absent breath sounds on the affected side.
Signs of hemothorax may show on the following tests:
Treatment:
The objective of treatment is to stabilize the condition of the affected person, stop the bleeding, and remove the blood in the pleural space. A chest tube is inserted through the chest wall to drain the blood, and it is left in place for several days to reexpand the lung. The cause of the hemothorax should be treated. Frequently surgery is indicated because of the nature of injury sustained by trauma.
Prognosis:
The outcome depends upon the underlying cause of the hemothorax.
Complications:
- shock
- fibrosis or scarring of the pleural membranes
Call Your Healthcare Provider:
Call 911 for any penetrating or serious blunt injury to the chest, or if moderate chest pain or shortness of breath occur.
Go to the emergency room or call the local emergency number (such as 911) if severe chest pain, severe difficulty breathing , absent breathing, and/or other symptoms of hemothorax occur.
Aortic rupture (a tear in the aorta, which is the major artery coming from the heart) can be seen on a chest X-ray. In this case, it was caused by a traumatic perforation of the thoracic aorta. This is how the X-ray appears when the chest is full of blood (right-sided hemothorax) seen here as cloudiness on the left side of the picture.
|
