High-resolution CT findings of re-expansion pulmonary edema

To describe the high-resolution CT (HRCT) findings of re-expansion pulmonary edema (REPE) following a thoracentesis for a spontaneous pneumothorax.

HRCT scans from 43 patients who developed REPE immediately after a thoracentesis for treatment of pneumothorax were retrospectively analyzed. The study group consisted of 41 men and two women with a mean age of 34 years. The average time interval between insertion of the drainage tube and HRCT was 8.5 hours (range, 1-24 hours). The patterns and distribution of the lung lesions were analyzed and were assigned one of the following classifications: consolidation, ground-glass opacity (GGO), intralobular interstitial thickening, interlobular septal thickening, thickening of bronchovascular bundles, and nodules. The presence of pleural effusion and contralateral lung involvement was also assessed.

Patchy areas of GGO were observed in all 43 patients examined. Consolidation was noted in 22 patients (51%). The geographic distribution of GGO and consolidation was noted in 25 patients (58%). Interlobular septal thickening and intralobular interstitial thickening was noted in 28 patients (65%), respectively. Bronchovascular bundle thickening was seen in 13 patients (30%), whereas ill-defined centrilobular GGO nodules were observed in five patients (12%). The lesions were predominantly peripheral in 38 patients (88%). Of these lesions, gravity-dependent distribution was noted in 23 cases (53%). Bilateral lung involvement was noted in four patients (9%), and a small amount of pleural effusion was seen in seven patients (16%).

The HRCT findings of REPE were peripheral patchy areas of GGO that were frequently combined with consolidation as well as interlobular septal and intralobular interstitial thickening.