How to treat hydropneumothorax?

I don’t know if you are familiar with the disease of hydropneumothorax. The accumulation of fluid and air in the pleural cavity is called hydropneumothorax. Hydropneumothorax can have a great impact on the health of the human lungs. Therefore, after patients find that they have hydropneumothorax, they should go to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time.

1: The accumulation of fluid and air in the pleural cavity is called hydropneumothorax. Hydropneumothorax is a condition in which there is fluid accumulation in the chest cavity along with pneumothorax. The accumulation of blood becomes hemothorax, and the accumulation of tissue fluid is hydropneumothorax. There is no difference in the treatment of hydropneumothorax and pneumothorax, but hydropneumothorax cannot be treated by puncture. The pleural cavity is composed of the parietal and visceral pleura and is an airless, potential cavity. When the pleura is damaged for any reason and air enters the pleural cavity, it is called pneumothorax. At this time, the pressure in the pleural cavity increases, and even negative pressure becomes positive pressure, compressing the lungs and obstructing venous blood return to the heart, resulting in varying degrees of lung and heart dysfunction.

2: Hydropneumothorax may occur due to bronchopleural fistula, trauma, post-surgery, and post-thoracentesis. It can be divided into two types: free hydropneumothorax and encapsulated hydropneumothorax.

3: Subpleural emphysematous bubbles can be either congenital or acquired; the former is caused by congenital dysplasia of elastic fibers and decreased elasticity of alveolar walls, which form bullae after expansion and are more common in slender males with no obvious disease in lung X-ray examinations; the latter is more common on the basis of obstructive pneumothorax or post-inflammatory fibrous lesions, with semi-obstruction and distortion of bronchioles, resulting in a living valve mechanism and forming emphysematous bubbles. The enlarged emphysematous bubbles degenerate due to nutritional circulation disorders, resulting in rupture during coughing or increased intrapulmonary pressure.

1: The principle of treatment is to vent air appropriately according to the different types of pneumothorax to relieve the obstacles to breathing and circulation caused by chest air accumulation, so that the lungs can expand and restore function as soon as possible. At the same time, complications and primary diseases should also be treated.

2: 1. Symptomatic treatment: bed rest, oxygen, analgesia, cough suppressants, and antibiotics if infection occurs.

3: 2. Chest decompression: (1) For closed pneumothorax, patients with lung compression <20>20% and obvious symptoms should undergo thoracentesis and aspiration 1/1 to 2 days, with 600 to 800 ml each time. (2) For open pneumothorax, thoracotomy should be used to deflate the lungs. If the lungs still cannot expand, negative pressure continuous suction can be used. (3) Tension pneumothorax: The condition is more critical and the pressure must be vented and reduced as soon as possible. At the same time, be prepared to immediately perform closed chest drainage or negative pressure continuous suction.

4: III. Surgical treatment: If the lung cannot be re-expanded despite active medical treatment, surgical treatment may be considered for chronic pneumothorax. Recurrent pneumothorax can be treated with pleural adhesion surgery.

As the symptoms worsen, multiple alveoli rupture to form bullae, which can easily cause a hole in the lung, causing gas to leak into the chest cavity and form pneumothorax. Elderly patients with long-term severe respiratory diseases should pay special attention in winter.