A 73-Year-Old Man With Progressive Whole Body Subcutaneous Gas After Pleural Catheter Removal.

Authors

Thomas W DeCato, Pulmonary Medicine, Providence Medical Group, Spokane, WAFollow
Rebecca E Burk
Mustafa Mir-Kasimov
John W Shigeoka
Matthew J Hegewald
Karl Sanders

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2019

Publication Title

Chest

Abstract

CASE PRESENTATION: A 73-year-old man presented to the ED of an outside hospital with asymptomatic chest wall swelling 10 h after discharge from our hospital. Four days earlier, he had presented to our hospital with increased dyspnea, cough, and sputum production. His history was notable for severe COPD with bullous emphysema. Chest imaging demonstrated bilateral opacities and a collection of gas and liquid in the major fissure of the left lung. A catheter was placed into the collection of gas and liquid under imaging guidance. After 4 days, the catheter was removed without event and the patient was discharged from the hospital with an extended course of antibiotics. Imaging performed in the ED revealed gas in the tissues of the chest wall and no evidence of a pneumothorax. He was transported back to our hospital by helicopter.

Department

Pulmonary Medicine

Recommended Citation

DeCato, Thomas W; Burk, Rebecca E; Mir-Kasimov, Mustafa; Shigeoka, John W; Hegewald, Matthew J; and Sanders, Karl, "A 73-Year-Old Man With Progressive Whole Body Subcutaneous Gas After Pleural Catheter Removal." (2019). Articles, Abstracts, and Reports. 1454.
https://digitalcommons.providence.org/publications/1454