HAEMOTHORAX

The accumulation of blood into the pleural cavity is called haemothorax. The haemorrhage may be caused due to damage in the intercostal vessels, to the lungs, to the large intrathoracic vessels, to the diaphragm or to the mediastinum, and it may be a manifestation of systematic disease. Also it may occur after iatrogenic procedures such as chest paracentisis, chest tube insertion or fine needle aspiration biopsy of the lung.
Furthermore haemothorax may occur as a complication of anticoagulant therapy. The treatment of haemothorax depends on the amount of the accumulated blood, the patient’s symptoms, the time period within which the blood is accumulated and the patient’s general condition.
It may be treated by the insertion of a chest tube (Argyle tube), with or without Trocar.
The evacuation of blood from the pleural cavity is needed in order to allow the lung to expand, to eliminate the possibility of infection and to avoid the development of fibrothorax.