Tension pneumothorax during one-lung ventilation: a case report
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Updated: Sep 28, 2026

Monitoring Lung Function with Electrical Impedance Tomography in the Intensive Care Unit
Published on: September 6, 2024
Weili Weng1, Don J DeCrosta, Hai Zhang
1Department of Anesthesiology, Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, NY, USA. wweng@jhmi.edu
Abstract:
A 76-year-old woman underwent double-lumen endotracheal tube intubation for right upper lobectomy. During one-lung ventilation, she developed tension pneumothorax on her dependent lung and suffered cardiac arrest. The presenting signs of tension pneumothorax--hypoxemia, hypotension, and increased airway pressure--are relatively common during this procedure, leading to a delay in diagnosis and effective treatment. When all three signs occur together during one-lung ventilation, cardiovascular collapse can result and serious consideration must be given to the diagnosis of tension pneumothorax in the dependent lung.
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