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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffPossible complications from a spontaneous or traumatic pneumothorax include:
- Recurrence. Close to half the people who have had one pneumothorax have another, usually within three years of the first.
- Persistent air leak. In spite of a functioning chest tube inserted to suction the air out, air may sometimes continue to leak if the opening in the lung won't close. After several days to a week or so, it may be necessary to surgically close the air leak.
Complications of a tension pneumothorax are more serious and include:
- Low blood oxygen levels (hypoxemia). Because a tension pneumothorax causes near or total collapse of one lung and can compress the other, you take in less air and less oxygen enters your bloodstream. As a result, you develop lower than normal blood oxygen levels. Lack of oxygen can disrupt your body's basic functioning, and severely low levels can be life-threatening.
- Cardiac arrest. If air continues to build up, the increasing pressure can push your heart and blood vessels toward the uncollapsed lung, compressing both your healthy lung and heart. A tension pneumothorax can interfere with the return of blood to the heart and lead to a sudden loss of heart function. Cardiac arrest is fatal if not treated immediately.
- Respiratory failure. This occurs when blood levels of oxygen fall too low, and the level of carbon dioxide becomes too high. Severely low blood oxygen can lead to heart arrhythmias and unconsciousness, and high carbon dioxide levels to sleepiness, confusion and coma. Eventually, respiratory failure may prove fatal.
- Shock. This critical condition occurs when blood pressure drops so low that the body's vital organs are deprived of oxygen and nutrients. Shock is a major medical emergency and requires immediate care.
References
- Pneumothorax. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec05/ch060/ch060g.html. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- What are pleurisy and other disorders of the pleura? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pleurisy/pleurisy_all.html. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Smith DA. Pulmonary emergencies. In: Stone CK, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Emergency Medicine. 6th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3106264. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Noppen M, et al. Music: A new cause of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Thorax. 2004;59:722.
- Light RW. Disorders of the pleura and mediastinum. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2861952. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Light RW. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Spontaneous pneumothorax fact sheet. American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35772. Accessed Feb. 17, 2009.
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 24, 2009.
