What is the treatment for a hemothorax and a pneumothorax?
The most important treatment for hemothorax is draining the blood out of your chest cavity. Your doctor will likely put a tube through your chest muscles and tissues, through your ribs, and into your chest cavity to drain any pooled blood, fluid, or air. This is called a thoracentesis or thoracostomy.
What is the treatment for a pediatric patient with a tension pneumothorax?
A patient with a traumatic pneumothorax is best treated with a chest tube, because the condition may rapidly convert into a tension pneumothorax, especially if positive-pressure ventilation is applied. A tension pneumothorax requires immediate decompression with needle thoracostomy, followed by tube thoracostomy.
How do you treat a hemothorax in the field?
Treatment of a hemothorax includes supportive care, high-flow oxygen, two large-bore intravenous (IV) lines, and transport. Keep in mind, a needle decompression of a hemothorax is an absolute contraindication.
Can you have a hemothorax and pneumothorax?
Hemopneumothorax is a combination of two medical conditions: pneumothorax and hemothorax. Pneumothorax, which is also known as a collapsed lung, happens when there is air outside the lung, in the space between the lung and the chest cavity. Hemothorax occurs when there is blood in that same space.
How is Hydropneumothorax treated?
Treatment options may include observation, needle aspiration, chest tube insertion, nonsurgical repair or surgery. You may receive supplemental oxygen therapy to speed air reabsorption and lung expansion.
What causes pneumothorax in newborns?
The most common cause of pneumothorax is respiratory distress syndrome. This is a condition that occurs in babies who are born too early (premature). The baby’s lungs lack the slippery substance (surfactant) that helps them stay open (inflated). Therefore, the tiny air sacs are not able to expand as easily.
How do paramedics treat pneumothorax?
If an EMS provider suspects a tension pneumothorax, they should perform immediate needle decompression in the second intercostal space to restore cardiac output. The definitive treatment for pneumothorax is chest tube placement in the emergency department.
Which of the following assessments would allow you to best differentiate a pneumothorax from a hemothorax?
A chest radiograph would help distinguish between pneumothorax and hemothorax, but the physical examination should be sufficient.