Passive atelectasis
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At the time the article was created Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.
View Craig Hacking's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had the following disclosures:
- Integral Diagnostics, Shareholder (ongoing)
- Micro-X Ltd, Shareholder (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Henry Knipe's current disclosures- Relaxation atelectasis
Passive atelectasis, also known as relaxation atelectasis, is a form of lung atelectasis due to the loss of the negative pressure state in the pleural space.
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Clinical presentation
The clinical presentation would depend on the extent of atelectasis and how quickly it develops. Small and gradually developing areas of atelectasis may be asymptomatic or present as a non-productive cough. Larger areas that develop more quickly can present with hypoxia, respiratory failure, cough, and/or pleuritic chest pain 6.
Physical examination of the lungs may reveal diminished movement of the affected area, dullness on percussion, decreased or absent breath sounds, and ipsilateral tracheal deviation 6.
Pathology
With a loss of the negative intrapleural pressure (e.g. in pneumothorax) there is equalization of intrapleural and intra-alveolar pressures and the lung is said to "relax" due to its normal elastic recoil, resulting in lung volume loss 5. In diaphragmatic abnormalities, there is a reduction in downward force to fully expand the lungs, resulting in passive atelectasis 5.
Etiology
Causes of passive atelectasis may be grouped into three main categories 5:
simple pneumothorax
-
conditions of hypoventilation
chest wall mass
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Radiographic features
Plain radiograph
There may not be a significant increase in density from the atelectasis, as perfusion of the affected lung also decreases ref.
Quiz questions
References
- 1. W. Richard Webb, Charles B. Higgins. Thoracic Imaging. (2011) ISBN: 9781605479767 - Google Books
- 2. Kumar. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, Professional Edition, 8th ed. Saunders. 2009. Purchase from Amazon
- 3. Richard B. Gunderman. Essential Radiology. (2006) ISBN: 9781588900821 - Google Books
- 4. Ray K, Bodenham A, Paramasivam E. Pulmonary Atelectasis in Anaesthesia and Critical Care. Continuing Education in Anaesthesia Critical Care & Pain. 2014;14(5):236-45. doi:10.1093/bjaceaccp/mkt064
- 5. Woodring J & Reed J. Types and Mechanisms of Pulmonary Atelectasis. J Thorac Imaging. 1996;11(2):92-108. doi:10.1097/00005382-199621000-00002 - Pubmed
- 6. Al-Tubaikh J. Atelectasis (Lung Collapse). Intern Med. 2010;:119-22. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-03709-2_20
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