Hemithorax white-out
Presentation
Shortness of breath.
Patient Data
Age: 65
Gender: Male
From the case:
Hemithorax white-out
X-ray
Frontal
Essentially complete white out of the left hemithorax.
The trachea is pushed to the right.
Right lung clear.
Case Discussion
A 'complete white out' of the hemithorax describes total opacification of one side of the thoracic cavity.
The main causes are:
- massive pleural effusion
- pneumonectomy
- total collapse
- total lung consolidation
The tracheal position is key to the likely cause - in the case it has been pushed to the contralateral side.
This is due to the mass effect from a pleural effusion.
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