Spontaneous hemopneumothorax--results of conservative treatment

Spontaneous hemopneumothorax is a serious condition complicating spontaneous pneumothorax. Early stage thoracotomy has been advocated to stop the bleeding and evacuate the coagulated blood from the pleural cavity. The present review was undertaken to emphasize the potential life-threatening condition of spontaneous hemopneumothorax and reassess the benefit of conservative treatment with chest tube drainage. Out of six patients, five patients were treated conservatively and one required an emergency thoracotomy because of cardiovascular collapse. Although three patients still had minimal residual hemopneumothorax on discharge, none of them developed empyema or trapped lung. In conclusion, conservative treatment is efficient and should be performed if bleeding persists for less than 24 hours after chest tube placement.