Revision 5 for 'Spontaenous hemopneumothorax'

Spontaneous hemopneumothorax is a subtype of a hemopneumothorax where there is accumulation of blood and air within the pleural space in the absence of trauma or other definitive cause.

Pathology

The source of bleeding is uncertain but in many cases can result from shearing of the adhesions between the parietal and the visceral pleura. Due to the presence of pneumothorax there is a lack of tamponade from the lung while blood is accumulating in the pleural space under systemic pressure that is about six times higher than in the pulmonary arterial circulation.

Associations

• neurofibromatosis type 1
• hemophilia A: hemothorax is a very rare event occurring in less than 1% of cases ¹
• anticoagulant therapy