Bilateral Pneumothoraces Following Central Venous Cannulation
We report the occurrence of a bilateral pneumothoraces after unilateral central venous catheterization of the right subclavian vein in a 70-year-old patient. The patient had no history of pulmonary or pleural disease and no history of cardiothoracic surgery. Two days earlier, she had a median laparo...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2009-01-01
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| Series: | Case Reports in Medicine |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/745713 |
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| Summary: | We report the occurrence of a bilateral pneumothoraces after unilateral central venous catheterization of the right subclavian vein in a 70-year-old patient. The patient had no history of pulmonary or pleural disease and no history of cardiothoracic surgery. Two days earlier, she had a median laparotomy under general and epidural anaesthesia.
Prior to the procedure, the patient was hemodynamically stable and her transcutaneous oxygen saturation was 97% in room air. We punctured the right pleural space before cannulation of the right subclavian vein. After the procedure, the patient slowly became hemodynamically instable with respiratory distress. A chest radiograph revealed a complete left-side pneumothorax and a mild right-side pneumothorax. The right-side pneumothorax became under tension after left chest tube insertion. The symptoms finally resolved after insertion of a right chest tube. After a diagnostic work-up, we suspect a congenital “Buffalo chests” explaining bilateral pneumothoraces and a secondary tension pneumothorax. |
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| ISSN: | 1687-9627 1687-9635 |