A case of bilateral pneumothorax following computer‐tomography guided transthoracic biopsy in a woman with suspected pulmonary cancer

Abstract

Abstract Computer‐tomography‐guided needle biopsies are useful for diagnosing, staging, and classification of peripheral pulmonary nodules. However, the procedure carries a risk of iatrogenic pneumothorax. This report describes a patient‐case where a woman had undergone a computer‐tomography guided biopsy. Approximately 4 hours following discharge the patient was admitted to the emergency ward with severe chest pain and dyspnea. Chest x‐ray revealed bilateral pneumothorax and subcutaneous emphysema at the biopsy site. Pleural drainage was administered on the patient's right side. Another chest x‐ray following drainage showed regression of pneumothorax on both sides thus indicating communicating pleural cavities. Medical history revealed that the patient had been thymectomized 2 years earlier and a computer tomography visualized that the patient lacked mediastinal separation of the two pleural cavities. It is possible that patients with a history of mediastinal or thoracic surgery should be observed longer following procedures carrying risk of iatrogenic pneumothorax.

Keywords

• bilateral pneumothorax
• respiratory failure
• thymectomy