Sequence of Rare Diagnoses in a Young Patient: Altitude Barotrauma Hemopneumothorax and Desquamative Interstitial Pneumonia

Abstract

We present the case of a 35-year-old patient without pathological history who developed hemopneumothorax due to altitude barotrauma during a commercial airline flight. The computed tomography (CT) of the chest identified the presence of right hydropneumothorax and emphysema “blebs” and bubbles. After the therapeutic insertion of a drain tube, the patient returned to the country by land transport. Three weeks later, he was diagnosed with right-sided pleurisy based on a CT scan with contrast material. A surgical intervention was then performed, and three biopsy samples were taken; the histopathological result highlighted suggestive elements for the diagnosis of desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP).

Keywords

• hemopneumothorax
• altitude barotrauma
• emphysematous lesions
• desquamative interstitial pneumonia