Anest. intenziv. Med. 2021;32(1):48-51 | DOI: 10.36290/aim.2021.004

Pneumothorax, which was not a pneumothoraxCase Report

Matoušek V.^1, 3, Zemanová P.², Stach Z.¹

¹ Klinika anesteziologie, resuscitace a intenzivní medicíny, 1. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy a Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze

² I. klinika tuberkulózy a respiračních nemocí, 1. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy a Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze

³ Klinika anesteziologie, perioperační a intenzivní medicíny, Univerzita J. E. Purkyně v Ústí nad Labem, Masarykova nemocnice v Ústí nad Labem

66 y.o. patient with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was hospitalized in a standard ward, after abrupt onset of dyspnea a chest X-ray showed a pneumothorax. However, ultrasound examination before pleural drainage did not confirm pneumothorax and thus drainage was not performed. A computed tomography scan showed vanishing lung syndrome, explaining the X-ray finding. This case report points out vanishing lung syndrome and demonstrates complementarity of different imaging methods in diagnostic of pneumothorax in patient with complicated intrathoracic pathologies.

Keywords: pneumothorax, ultrasound, computed tomography, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, vanishing lung.

Received: October 16, 2020; Revised: January 15, 2021; Accepted: January 21, 2021; Prepublished online: January 28, 2021; Published: March 12, 2021  Show citation