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Pneumothorax, Hemothorax, and Empyema

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Common Problems in Acute Care Surgery

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Abstract

Pneumothorax, hemothorax, and empyema are commonly encountered by the acute care surgeon. This chapter discusses the epidemiology, clinical presentation, management, complications, and follow-up for these disease processes. Trauma and acute care surgeons are often called upon to treat a traumatic pneumothorax: a pneumothorax that results after blunt or penetrating trauma, usually as a result of displaced rib fractures. A spontaneous pneumothorax is also a common cause of a pneumothorax that is typically seen in smokers or in patients with either a congenital bleb or blebs from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is seen in 1–18 cases per 100,000 people per year. The risk of spontaneous pneumothorax in the smoking population is reported to be 20 times higher than the nonsmoking population and is dose-dependent. In one large population study, 77 % of patients who developed a spontaneous pneumothorax were male, and 28 % of all patients who developed a spontaneous pneumothorax had a repeat event within 4 years. A spontaneous pneumothorax is often managed by a thoracic surgeon and will not be the focus of this discussion. For the remaining portion of this chapter, the word pneumothorax will be used to represent a traumatic pneumothorax.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Surgical Critical Care, PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, 505 NE 87th Avenue, Bldg. B, Suite 301, Vancouver, WA, 98664, USA

    K. Shad Pharaon

  2. Division of Trauma, Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    K. Shad Pharaon

  3. FACU Surgeon, Second Medical Battalion, Second Marine Logistics Group, 100 Brewster Ave, Camp Lejeune, NC, 28547, USA

    Benjamin L. Davis

Authors
  1. K. Shad Pharaon
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Correspondence to K. Shad Pharaon .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, The University of Texas McGovern Medical School - Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Laura J. Moore

  2. General Surgery and Trauma Ben Taub Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA

    S. Rob Todd

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Pharaon, K.S., Davis, B.L. (2017). Pneumothorax, Hemothorax, and Empyema. In: Moore, L., Todd, S. (eds) Common Problems in Acute Care Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42792-8_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42792-8_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42790-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42792-8

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