RT Book, Section
A1 Gomella, Tricia Lacy
A1 Eyal, Fabien G.
A1 Bany-Mohammed, Fayez
SR Print(0)
ID 1168356988
T1 Pneumothorax
T2 Gomella's Neonatology: Management, Procedures, On-Call Problems, Diseases, and Drugs, 8e
YR 2020
FD 2020
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781259644818
LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1168356988
RD 2024/04/24
AB An  infant  with  respiratory  distress  may  have  a  pneumothorax.  A  pneumothorax  is  the  abnormal  accumulation  of  air  in  the  pleural  space,  between  the  visceral  and  parietal  pleura.  It  can  develop  spontaneously  (idiopathic  or  from  underlying  lung  disease)  or  be  secondary  to  trauma.  Pathophysiology  involves  an  increased  intra-alveolar  pressure,  which  causes  alveolar  rupture  and  results  in  interstitial  air;  this  air  then  dissects  along  the  perivascular  spaces  and  ruptures  into  the  pleural  space.  A  pneumothorax  occurs  more  commonly  in  the  neonatal  period  than  any  other  time  in  life.  Incidence  is  approximately  1%  to  2%  in  term  newborns  and  approximately  6%  in  premature  infants.  A  pneumothorax  is  generally  characterized  as  spontaneous,  traumatic,  tension,  or  persistent.