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The risk of fatal re-expansion pulmonary oedema in poor left ventricular reserve
Manish Chowdhary1, Edward W K Peng, Pradip K Sarkar
1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK.
Abstract:
Re-expansion pulmonary oedema (REPO) is an uncommon complication which may be encountered following drainage of pneumothorax, pleural effusion or haemopneumothorax. Treatment is usually supportive and some patients may require positive pressure ventilation. We provide a novel description of the mechanism of a fatal REPO in a patient with a small and non-compliant left ventricle (LV). We urge for an extreme caution when performing thoracocentesis in patients with poor LV reserve.
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