Efficacy of uniportal video assisted thoracoscopic surgery in management of primary spontaneous hemopneumothorax

A Rare but Life-Threatening Case of Spontaneous Hemopneumothorax in a Young Male

Spontaneous hemopneumothorax (SHP) is the spontaneous accumulation of both blood and air within the pleural space without any previous medical or trauma history. Despite its rare existence, it is one of the most life-threatening conditions seen in the emergency department. Even though SHP is an uncommon presentation, early recognition and prompt intervention are essential because of its rapidly deteriorating nature leading to respiratory distress and hemodynamic instability. This is a case of a 20-year-old male who presented in the emergency room complaining of sudden chest pain and respiratory distress. After physical examination and radiological investigation, a diagnosis of left-sided spontaneous hemopneumothorax was the top differential that consisted of the patient's presentation and chest X-ray. Subsequently, a chest tube was inserted to drain the blood in the pleural cavity. In addition to the presence of blood in the chest tube, the serum hemoglobin levels of the patient were low, which suggested the diagnosis of hemopneumothorax. After that, the patient underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) which demonstrated a significant amount of pleural blood clots, pleural adhesions, and apical blebs in the lung. Through this procedure, the source of the bleeding was found to be a ruptured adhesion in the left lung. By the end of this surgical intervention, the adhesions were cauterized and the blebs were resected. Post-operatively, the patient stabilized and had a full lung expansion upon follow-up. This case emphasizes the importance of early recognition, diagnosis, and prompt surgical management of SPH to prevent life-threatening complications.

Curative Effect Observation and Prognosis Analysis of Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery and Thoracotomy in Patients with Hemopneumothorax

Currently, the incidence of hemopneumothorax is high in China, and with the continuous improvement of modern medical standards, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has gradually become the main method of clinical treatment of hemopneumothorax. The aim of this study was to investigate the minimally invasive mechanism and the clinical value of television thoracoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic hemopneumothorax and to provide a relevant theoretical basis for the superiority of television thoracoscopy. In this study, total of 98 patients with traumatic hemopneumothorax admitted to three hospitals from January 2017 to December 2019 were selected and divided into 49 cases each in the thoracotomy group and VATS group according to the differences of the surgical method. The surgical situation such as operation time, intraoperative bleeding, and incision length, postoperative recovery such as duration of painkiller use, chest tube retention time, volume of drainage, and hospital stay, levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and other inflammatory factors at different times after admission to hospital, postoperative complications such as pulmonary infection, enveloped effusion, incisional infection, and pressureulcers, and recurrence rate at 12-month follow-up were used as the evaluation indexes to analyze the effect of different surgical treatment modalities in patients with hemopneumothorax and the impact on patient prognosis. The results showed that the operative time, intraoperative bleeding, duration of painkiller use, chest tube retention time, and hospital stay were shorter in the VATS group than in the thoracotomy group. The length of the surgical incision, volume of drainage, and inflammatory factor levels at different postoperative periods were lower in the VATS group than in the thoracotomy group. The incidence of postoperative complications was lower in both groups, and the difference was not statistically significant. The follow-up results showed that there were no recurrent cases in both groups 12 months after discharge. This indicates that VATS is an effective treatment option for hemopneumothorax, which can achieve the same exploration and treatment effect as thoracotomy, and has the advantages of less trauma, less bleeding, shorter operation time, and faster postoperative recovery compared with thoracotomy. The prognosis of patients treated by VTAS is good, which provides a new treatment route for patients who cannot tolerate thoracotomy and are poorly tolerated.

Spontaneous hemopneumothorax with a ruptured aneurysm in the second intercostal artery: report of a case

Ruptured intercostal aneurysm is a rare cause of spontaneous hemopneumothorax (SHP). A 29-year-old woman presented to our hospital with left neck pain and, in the emergency room, suddenly lost consciousness. Chest radiography showed massive pleural effusion and the moderate collapse of the left lung. A chest drain was placed and 800 mL of bloody pleural effusion was collected. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a ruptured aneurysm near the left pulmonary apex. Emergency angiography further revealed the ruptured aneurysm in the second intercostal artery. Transcatheter angiographic embolization (TAE) was performed, which resulted in hemostasis. On hospitalization day 2, the hematoma was removed via video-assisted thoracic surgery. A bulla was also identified in the lower lobe and removed. She was discharged from the hospital on a postoperative day 6 without complications. Thus, TAE might be effective to control bleeding during the initial treatment of SHP due to a ruptured aneurysm.

Spontaneous Hemopneumothorax: A Rare Cause of Unexplained Hemodynamic Instability in a Young Patient

Spontaneous hemopneumothorax is a rare and potentially life-threatening disorder which complicates about 1-12% of patients presenting with spontaneous pneumothorax and has a remarkable predilection for male patients. It may present with signs of hypovolemic shock without apparent cause. While there are no specific guidelines for the management of patients diagnosed with such condition, wide debate in the literature relating to patient selection for surgery remains unresolved, and recently there seems to be a trend increasingly favorable towards early surgical intervention. Video-assisted thoracic surgery emerges as an excellent option for stable patients and has now been considered the gold standard treatment for spontaneous hemopneumothorax. We report the case of a 17-year-old male patient who presented to the emergency department with a history of sudden chest pain and dyspnea, with no previous evidence of trauma. On admission, the patient presented with hypotension, tachycardia, and cutaneous pallor. Chest X-ray showed hydropneumothorax on the left hemithorax; then, chest tube was placed with an initial drainage of 2000 ml of blood.