CTICasesHemothorax Complicating Thoracentesis
▶ Watch on YouTube — age-restricted, cannot embed here
Imaging findings
Serial chest radiographs in two separate patients demonstrate the rapid and dramatic accumulation of massive pleural fluid (completely opacifying a hemithorax) within hours following diagnostic thoracentesis. In both cases, the pleural fluid was surgically proven to be a large acute hemothorax.
Key takeaways
While diagnostic and therapeutic thoracentesis is generally a safe procedure, it carries a small risk of severe complications, including acute hemothorax. Hemothorax typically results from a laceration of an intercostal vessel or a direct lung laceration during the procedure, and can lead to rapid hemorrhagic shock and the need for emergent surgical intervention.
AI-assisted summary — may contain errors. Verify against the source video. Learn more
More from this webinar
- Pulmonary MALT LymphomaNeoplastic
- Erdheim-Chester DiseaseNeoplastic
- Alveolar SarcoidosisAutoimmune
- Bony SarcoidosisAutoimmune
- Cardiac AmyloidosisMetabolic
- Senile (ATTR) Pulmonary Amyloidosis with Cystic Lung DiseaseMetabolic
- Pulmonary Amyloidosis with Cystic Lung Disease in Sjögren Syndrome and MALT LymphomaAutoimmune
- Uncharacterized Pulmonary Amyloidosis with Cystic Lung DiseaseMetabolic
See all cases from June 27, 2014 →