Spontaneous Hemopneumothorax: A Rare Cause of Unexplained Hemodynamic Instability in a Young Patient

Abstract

Spontaneous hemopneumothorax is a rare and potentially life-threatening disorder which complicates about 1-12% of patients presenting with spontaneous pneumothorax and has a remarkable predilection for male patients. It may present with signs of hypovolemic shock without apparent cause. While there are no specific guidelines for the management of patients diagnosed with such condition, wide debate in the literature relating to patient selection for surgery remains unresolved, and recently there seems to be a trend increasingly favorable towards early surgical intervention. Video-assisted thoracic surgery emerges as an excellent option for stable patients and has now been considered the gold standard treatment for spontaneous hemopneumothorax. We report the case of a 17-year-old male patient who presented to the emergency department with a history of sudden chest pain and dyspnea, with no previous evidence of trauma. On admission, the patient presented with hypotension, tachycardia, and cutaneous pallor. Chest X-ray showed hydropneumothorax on the left hemithorax; then, chest tube was placed with an initial drainage of 2000 ml of blood.