Clin Exp Emerg Med.  2023 Sep;10(3):333-336. 10.15441/ceem.22.224.

Acute contralateral reexpansion pulmonary edema within a few hours of pleural drainage

• Yun GS
• Ahn HJ
• Kang C
• Park JS
• You Y
• Jeong W
• Cho YC

• KMID: 2546359
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15441/ceem.22.224

Abstract

We report a case of an 83-year-old male patient with massive tuberculous pleural effusion. Percutaneous drainage was performed following a diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy. Fifteen minutes into the procedure, the patient’s condition deteriorated suddenly, necessitating mechanical ventilatory support. A chest radiograph performed after intubation showed partial collapse of the affected lung with pneumothorax. Despite sufficient air drainage and lung expansion, the patient’s oxygen demand remained high. A repeat chest radiograph performed 30 minutes after chest tube insertion revealed partial expansion of the affected lung and severe infiltrative patterns in the unaffected lung, suggesting contralateral reexpansion pulmonary edema.

Keyword

Pleural effusion; Thoracentesis; Pneumothorax; Case reports