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Potentially life-threatening emergency
Hemothorax
Other Resources UpToDate PubMed
Potentially life-threatening emergency

Hemothorax

Contributors: Casey Silver MD, Mary Anne Morgan MD, Ryan R. Walsh MD, Joshua J. Jarvis MD, Alastair Moore MD, Abhijeet Waghray MD
Other Resources UpToDate PubMed

Synopsis

Hemothorax is a collection of blood in the pleural cavity and is characterized by a pleural fluid hematocrit greater than 50% of the blood hematocrit (peripheral).

Hemothorax is generally related to chest wall trauma or thoracic instrumentation, although it can also result spontaneously, from malignancy, from vascular issues such as aneurysm, arteriovenous malformations, embolisms, or dissections, and from a variety of uncommon diseases.

Symptoms may include anxiety, chest pain, a rapid heart rate, clammy skin, shallow breathing, and shortness of breath. Patients may go into shock.

Complications may include pneumothorax, fibrosis of pleural membranes, infection, shock, and death in the most severe cases.

Tube thoracostomy drainage is the major method of treatment.

Codes

ICD10CM:
J94.2 – Hemothorax

SNOMEDCT:
31892009 – Hemothorax

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Therapy

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Drug Reaction Data

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References

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Last Reviewed:02/04/2020
Last Updated:03/23/2020
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Potentially life-threatening emergency
Hemothorax
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A medical illustration showing key findings of Hemothorax : Chest pain, Pleural effusion, Dyspnea, Tachypnea, Chest trauma
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