Reexpansion Pulmonary Edema: Analysis of Eight Cases

Abstract

Aim: Reexpansion pulmonary edema (RPE) is a rarely seen clinical condition. RPE is a complication of the treatment of lung collapse secondary to pneumothorax, pleural effusion or atelectasis. In this article, eight cases of RPE were presented with treatment steps and clinical progress. Material and Metods: The data of 8 cases with RPE were evaluated retrospectively between 2004 and 2010. Patients were evaluated for symptoms, primary pathologies, treatment modalities, clinical course, morbidity and mortality. All patients were monitored with arterial blood gases and oxygen saturation, before and after surgical intervention. Results: Of the cases, five were (67,5%) famale, 3 (37,5%) were male with a mean age of 40 +/- 3,7. All cases had dyspnea and 3 cases had chest pain at the admission. Primary pathologies were pneumothorax at 2, malignant pleural effusion at 2, empyema at 3 cases and chronic pleuritis at 1 case. RPE developed after decortication in one case and after tube thoracostomy in 7 cases. It was demonstrated that the cases had compensatory respiratory acidosis before the treatment. Respiratory acidosis were improved after surgery. However, blood gases and oxygen saturation levels were worsened 2-4 hours after surgical intervention. It was noticed that the patients with tube thoracostomy showed a faster clinical improvement. The case of decortication had clinical deterioration and died. Conclusions: We think that the surgical correction of chronic lung collapse and lung collapse which appears after thoracic surgery should be regarded as hazardous for RPE development. For the prevention of this situation the first step is to identify the risk factors for each patient. These risk factors should be corrected and compensated. When there is a clinical or radiological suspicion, considering the high risk of mortality, it is necessary to take the required care to avoid this rare, though potentially severe condition, as well as earlier and more aggressive therapeutic measures be taken.