7. Pneumothorax X-Ray
Typically demonstrate:
• visible visceral pleural edge is
seen as a very thin, sharp
white line
• no lung markings are seen
peripheral to this line
• peripheral space is
radiolucent compared to the
adjacent lung
• lung may completely collapse
• subcutaneous emphysema
and pneumomediastinum may
also be present
9. Tension Pneumothorax
Hyperexpanded ipsilateral chest
Mediastinal shift to contralateral side
Contralateral displacement of anterior
junction line
“deep sulcus” sign = on frontal view larger
lateral costodiaphragmatic recess than
on opposite side
Flattening / inversion of ipsilateral
hemidiaphragm
Total / subtotal collapse of ipsilateral lung
Collapse of SVC / IVC / right heart border
decreased systemic venous return +
decreased cardiac output
Sharp delineation of visceral pleural by
dense pleural space
N.B.: Medical emergency!
10. Fractures of the ribs 3-8 with obvious displacement of the 5th and
6th ribs. The thin pleural line and the lack of the pulmonary vessels
in the right apex are clearly visible reflecting a pneumothorax
13. Pneumothorax in Supine Patient
• 1. Anteromedial pneumothorax
(earliest location)
• 2. Subpulmonic / anterolateral
pneumothorax (2nd most
common location)
• 3. Apicolateral pneumothorax
(least common location)
• 4. Posteromedial pneumothorax
(in presence of lower lobe
collapse)
• 5. Pneumothorax → outlines
pulmonary ligament
FIGURE 2. Anatomic localization of the pleural recesses according to the hilum
and lung. A, Suprahilar anteromedial pleural recess. B, Infrahilar anteromedial
pleural recess. C, Subpulmonic pleural recess. D, Posteromedial pleural recess. E,
Apicolateral pleural recess.
14. Anteromedial pneumothorax (earliest location)
• outline of medial diaphragm under cardiac silhouette
• Improved definition of mediastinal contours (SVC, azygos
vein, left subclavian artery, anterior junction line, superior
pulmonary vein, heart border, IVC, pericardial fat-pad)
15. Subpulmonic Pneumothorax
• Signs of subpulmonic pneumothorax
1.Hyperlucent upper quadrant of the abdomen
2.Deep lateral costophrenic sulcus
3.Visualization of the anterior costophrenic sulcus
4.A sharply outlined diaphragm in spite of parenchymnal disease has also
been used as a sign of subpulmonic pneumothorax
16. Sonographic Features of Normal Lung
• • BATWING SIGN
• • PLEURAL LINE
• • SLIDING LUNG
• • A LINES AND B LINES
• • LUNG PULSE
18. PLEURAL LINE/SLIDING SIGN:
• Most important finding in
normal aerated lung
• Two different patterns are
displayed: motionless portion
above the pleural line –
Horizontal waves
• • Sliding below the pleural line
– granular pattern (sand) in M
mode.
• • The resulting picture
resembles waves crashing
onto the sand – Seashore
sign (indicating normal
aerated lung)
Stratosphere sign/Barcode Sign
25. Catamenial Pneumothorax
• [kata, Greek = according to; men, Greek = month]
• = recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax during
menstruation associated with endometriosis of the
diaphragm; R >> L
CT Anterior junction line
Xray 1 posterior junction line
1. Primary / idiopathic spontaneous pneumothorax (80%)
Cause: rupture of subpleural blebs in lung apices
Age: 20.40 years; M€F = 8€1; esp. in patients with tall asthenic stature; mostly in
smokers
. chest pain (69%), dyspnea
Prognosis: recurrence in 30% on same side, in 10% on contralateral side
Rx: simple aspiration (in > 50% success) / tube thoracostomy (in 90% effective)
2. Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (20%):
(a) Air-trapping disease: spasmodic asthma, diffuse emphysema, Langerhans cell
histiocytosis, lymph-angiomyomatosis, tuberous sclerosis, cystic fibrosis
. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the most common predisposing disorder
of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax.
(b) Pulmonary infection: lung abscess, necrotizing pneumonia, hydatid disease,
pertussis, acute bacterial pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Pneumocystis carinii
pneumonia
(c) Granulomatous disease: tuberculosis, coccidioidomycosis, sarcoidosis, berylliosis
(d) Malignancy: primary lung cancer, lung metastases (esp. osteosarcoma, pancreas,
adrenal, Wilms tumor)
(e) Connective tissue disorder: scleroderma, rheumatoid disease, Marfan syndrome,
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
(f) Pneumoconiosis: silicosis, berylliosis
1423
(g) Vascular disease: pulmonary infarction
(h) Catamenial pneumothorax
(i) Neonatal disease: meconium aspiration, respirator therapy for hyaline membrane
disease
(j) Cx of honeycomb lung: pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, sarcoidosis,
scleroderma, eosinophilic granuloma, interstitial pneumonitis, Langerhans cell
histiocytosis, rheumatoid lung, idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis, pulmonary
alveolar proteinosis, biliary cirrhosis
hyperexpanded ipsilateral chest
√ mediastinal shift to contralateral side
√ contralateral displacement of anterior junction line
√ “deep sulcus” sign = on frontal view larger lateral costodiaphragmatic recess than
on opposite side
√ flattening / inversion of ipsilateral hemidiaphragm
√ total / subtotal collapse of ipsilateral lung
√ collapse of SVC / IVC / right heart border ← decreased systemic venous return +
decreased cardiac output
√ sharp delineation of visceral pleural by dense pleural space
N.B.: Medical emergency!
Skin folds mimicking a right pneumothorax (arrows). The laterally located blood vessels, the wide margin of the lines, and the orientation of the lines that is inconsistent with the edge of a slightly collapsed lung help to differentiate them from a real pneumothorax.
. Large, avascular bullae or
thin-walled cysts have concave rather than convex inner
margins and do not exactly conform to the normal shape of
the costophrenic sulcus when they occur at the lung base
Large bullae simulating pneumothorax. The left lung is
lucent, devoid of vessels, and almost completely replaced by bullae. The
bullae have concave margins (arrows), unlike pneumothorax, in which the
lung margin is convex and parallels the chest wall.
In a patient with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)and an
anteromedial pneumothorax (arrowheads), the contour of the
ascending aorta, AO, azygos vein, AZ, and superior vena cava,
SVC, remain sharply defined even when parenchymal disease is
present in the right upper lobe.
In the presence of an anteromedial pneumothorax, the lateral
wall ofthe left subclavian artery, SCA, and aortic knob become
sharply outlined. A pleural line is seen which is displaced laterally
(arrowheads).
The cardiophrenic sulcus becomes the
preferential site for pleural air collection
in the supine position, when the air
volume is small. In this young patient
with head and chesttrauma, a deep
anterior cardiophrenic angle is the first
evidence of pneumothorax (arrowhead).
The hyperlucent right and left upper quadrants with well defined,
deep costophrenic sulci are secondary to a subpulmonic
pneumothorax in this patientwith head and chesttrauma. The clear
outline of the apex of the heart is also due to the subpulmonic
pneumothorax.
In this patient with head and myocardial
trauma, deep costophrenic sulci
bilaterally raise the suspicion of bilateral
n spite of parenchymal disease in
this patient with ARDS, the
hemidiaphragms are sharply outlined
by bilateral subpulmonic
pneumothoraces to the level of the
posterior costophrenic sulci (arrowheads).
The undersurfaces of the
uplifted lower lobes
NORMAL LUNG FINDINGS IN THORACIC
ULTRASOUND
• BATWING SIGN
• PLEURAL LINE
• SLIDING LUNG
• A LINES AND B LINES
• LUNG PULSE
• POWER/ DOPPLER SLIDE SIGN
PLEURAL LINE/SLIDING SIGN: Most important finding in
normal aerated lung
• Sonographer visualizes the hyperechoic pleural line in
between two ribs moving back and forth
• Lung sliding corresponds to the to and fro movement of the
visceral pleural on the parietal pleura occuring with
respiration.
• Two different patterns are displayed: motionless portion
above the pleural line – Horizontal waves
• Sliding below the pleural line – granular pattern (sand) in M
mode.
• The resulting picture resembles waves crashing onto the
sand – Seashore sign (indicating normal aerated lung)
Stratosphere sign/Barcode Sign
• B-LINES OR COMET-TAIL ARTIFACTS: are reverberation artifacts
appearing as hyper echoic vertical lines that extend from the pleura to
the edge of the screen.
• Comet-tail artifacts move with lung sliding and respiratory movements
• These artifacts are seen in normal lung due to acoustic impedance
differences between the water and air
• Excessive “B-lines” on the other hand may be abnormal – indicating
interstitial edema
A-lines are a type of reverberation artifact, equally
spaced, horizontal lines originating from the hyperechoic
pleural line.
In normal lung, B-lines extend out and erase the “A-lines”
A-LINES
• “A-lines” are thoracic artifacts that help in the diagnosis of
pneumothorax.
• The space between each A-line corresponds to the same distance
between the skin surface and the parietal pleura.
• In the normal patient, B lines extend from the pleural line and erase
the A lines
• “A-lines” will be present in a patient with pneumothorax but “B -lines”
will not be seen.
• If lung sliding is absent with the presence of “A-lines” the sensitivity
and specificity for occult pneumothorax is 95 and 94 % respectively
Two lesser known signs of neonatal pneumothorax are
presented : the “large, hyperlucent hemithorax” sign and
the “medial stripe” sign. I