Reexpansion pulmonary edema following thoracentesis

Abstract

Reexpansion pulmonary edema is an uncommon complication of the treatment of lung atelectasis, pleural effusion or pneumothorax and pathogenesis is unknown. An elderly male patient presented to us with right-sided pleural effusion. 2 h after thoracentesis, he felt chest discomfort and increased breathlessness. His chest examination showed right-sided crackles. Chest radiograph showed right-sided heterogeneous opacity in right lower zone consistent with unilateral pulmonary edema. He was managed conservatively along with bilevel positive airway pressure ventilator support. His condition improved gradually and was discharged successfully after 2 days.

Keywords

• Bilevel positive airway pressure
• pleural effusion
• reexpansion pulmonary edema
• thoracentesis