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hemothorax
Sign in to saveA hemothorax (derived from hemo- [blood] + thorax [chest], plural hemothoraces) is an accumulation of blood within the pleural cavity. The symptoms of a hemothorax may include chest pain and difficulty breathing, while the clinical signs may include reduced breath sounds on the affected side and a rapid heart rate. Hemothoraces are usually caused by an injury, but they may occur spontaneously due to cancer invading the pleural cavity, as a result of a blood clotting disorder, as an unusual manifestation of endometriosis, in response to pneumothorax, or rarely in association with other conditio
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Hemothorax
- Medical condition (new).synonyms
- HaemothoraxHæmothoraxHaemorrhagic pleural effusion
- Medical condition (new).image
- PMC2567296 1757-1626-1-225-2.png
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Chest X-ray showing left sided hemothorax (arrowed)
- Medical condition (new).specialty
- Pulmonology
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Chest painDifficulty breathing
- Medical condition (new).types
- TraumaticSpontaneous
- Medical condition (new).causes
- TraumaCancerEndometriosis
- Medical condition (new).diagnosis
- Chest X-rayUltrasoundCT scanMRIThoracentesis
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- Tube thoracostomyThoracotomyFibrinolytic therapy
- Medical condition (new).prognosis
- Favorable with treatment
- Medical condition (new).complications
- EmpyemaFibrothorax
- Medical condition (new).frequency
- 300,000 cases in the US per year
- Medical condition (new).medication
- StreptokinaseUrokinase
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
24 sectionsContents
- Background
- Signs and symptoms
- Causes
- Traumatic
- Iatrogenic
- Nontraumatic
- Vascular
- Catamenial
- Mechanism
- Diagnosis
- Chest X-ray
- Other methods
- Thoracentesis
- Treatment
- Thoracostomy
- Surgery
- Other
- Prognosis
- Complications
- Epidemiology
- Other animals
- Horses
- References
- External links
A hemothorax (derived from hemo- [blood] + thorax [chest], plural hemothoraces) is an accumulation of blood within the pleural cavity. The symptoms of a hemothorax may include chest pain and difficulty breathing, while the clinical signs may include reduced breath sounds on the affected side and a rapid heart rate. Hemothoraces are usually caused by an injury, but they may occur spontaneously due to cancer invading the pleural cavity, as a result of a blood clotting disorder, as an unusual manifestation of endometriosis, in response to pneumothorax, or rarely in association with other conditions.
Hemothoraces are usually diagnosed using a chest X-ray, but they can be identified using other forms of imaging including ultrasound, a CT scan, or an MRI. They can be differentiated from other forms of fluid within the pleural cavity by analysing a sample of the fluid, and are defined as having a hematocrit of greater than 50% that of the person's blood. Hemothoraces may be treated by draining the blood using a chest tube. Surgery may be required if the bleeding continues. If treated, the prognosis is usually good. Complications of a hemothorax include infection within the pleural cavity and the formation of scar tissue.