-Report on Experiments and Clinical Cases-

A Case of Simultaneous Bilateral Spontaneous Pneumothorax Developed into Tension Pneumothorax

Satoshi Takahashi¹, Takatoshi Yokoyama¹, Norifumi Ninomiya², Hiroyuki Yokota² and Yasuhiro Yamamoto²

¹Emergency Care Unit, Seichikai Memorial Hospital
²Department of Acute Medicine, Nippon Medical School

Spontaneous pneumothorax is a relatively common disease in the clinical practice setting and is generally recognized to occurs most often in slender young men. However, spontaneous pneumothorax that occurs bilaterally and simultaneously and progresses to tension pneumothorax has rarely been documented. Although spontaneous pneumothorax can be diagnosed based on the patient's medical history or information from ambulance personnel, it should be remembered that there are some rare cases of bilateral tension pneumothorax. Prompt and appropriate diagnosis and treatment are necessary for patients with such conditions, which may can be life-threatening.

J Nippon Med Sch 2006; 73: 29-32

Keywords
simultaneous bilateral spontaneous pneumothorax, tension pneumothorax, young male patient

Correspondence to
Satoshi Takahashi, Department of Emergency Medicine, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan
satosi-emd@jcom.home.ne.jp

Received, September 14, 2005
Accepted, November 7, 2005