Hemothorax
Cause: Usually results from blunt or penetrating chest trauma. Hemothorax may result from thoracic surgery, pulmonary infarction, neoplasm, disecting thoracic aneurysm, or anticoagulant therapy.
Symptoms:
Percussion reveals dullness, and auscultation reveals decreased to absent breath sounds over the affected side.
Chest pain
Tachypnea
Mild to severe dyspnea (difficulty breathing) may be present
If respiratory failure results, the patient may appear anxious, restless, possibly stuporous, and cyanotic.
Marked blood loss produces hypotension and shock.
The affected side of the chest expands and stiffens, while the unaffected side rises and falls with the patient's gasping respirations
Treatment:
Goal: to stabilize the patient's condition, stop the bleeding, evacuate blood from the pleural space, and reexpand the underlying lung.
Mild hemothorax usually clears in 10 to 14 days, requiring only observation for further bleeding.
In severe hemothorax, thoracentesis may be performed, (not only use as a diagnostic tool, but also as a method of removing fluid from the pleural cavity.)
Chest tube
Suction may be used to prevent clot blockage
Thoracotomy may be done to evacuate blood and clots and to control bleeding.
Latest Article: Hair Loss
Alopecia also known as hair loss: Usually affects the scalp. It is rarer and less conspicuous elsewhere on the body. The hair follicle can generally regrow hair in the nonscarring form of this disorder (non cicatricial alopecia). Scarring alopecia usually destroys the hair follicle, making hair loss irreversible. The most common form of nonscarring...