Re-expansion pulmonary edema: a preventable complication

Ipsilateral pulmonary edema may occur in a lung that has been rapidly reinflated after a variable period of collapse resulting from pleural effusion or pneumothorax. The syndrome of re-expansion pulmonary edema is associated with variable degrees of hypotension and hypoxemia with some patients experiencing cardiac arrest and death. Although the number of cases reported in the medical literature is small, the actual incidence of this potentially avoidable complication is unknown. It may go unrecognized by the clinician as a primary contributor to an adverse outcome.