Yeungnam Univ J Med.  2015 Dec;32(2):106-110. 10.12701/yujm.2015.32.2.106.

Mechanical ventilation-associated pneumothorax presenting with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in patients with acute respiratory failure

• Eom JH
• Lee MG
• Lee CY
• Kwak KM
• Shin WJ
• Lee JW
• Kim SH
• Choi SH
• Park SY

• KMID: 2319909
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12701/yujm.2015.32.2.106

Abstract

The prevalence of pneumothorax cases among Intensive Care Unit patients who require mechanical ventilation ranges from 4%-15%. A pneumothorax remains one of the most serious complications of positive pressure ventilation. It can be diagnosed in a critically ill patient through a physical examination or radiographic studies that include chest radiographs, ultrasonography, or computed tomography scanning. However, in a critically ill patient, the diagnosis of a pneumothorax is often complicated by other diseases and by difficulties in imaging sick and unconscious patients. Although electrocardiogram changes associated with a pneumothorax have been described for many years, there has been no report of such among patients who require mechanical ventilation. In this paper, we report 2 cases of a spontaneous pneumothorax with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in patients who required invasive mechanical ventilation due to acute respiratory failure.

Keyword

Pneumothorax; Supraventricular tachycardia; Artificial respiration

MeSH Terms

Critical Illness
Diagnosis
Electrocardiography
Humans
Intensive Care Units
Physical Examination
Pneumothorax*
Positive-Pressure Respiration
Prevalence
Radiography, Thoracic
Respiration, Artificial
Respiratory Insufficiency*
Tachycardia, Supraventricular*
Ultrasonography