Chylothorax is a pleural collection of fluid formed by the escape of chyle from the thoracic duct or lymphatics into the thoracic cavity. Etiology Chylothorax in children occurs most frequently because of thoracic duct injury as a complication of cardiothoracic…
Hemothorax, an accumulation of blood in the pleural cavity, is rare in children. Etiology Bleeding into the chest cavity most commonly occurs after chest trauma, either blunt or penetrating. It can be the result of iatrogenic trauma, including surgical procedures…
Hydrothorax is a transudative pleural effusion; typically, it is caused by abnormal pressure gradients in the lung. Etiology Hydrothorax is most often associated with cardiac, renal, or hepatic disease. It can also be a manifestation of severe nutritional edema and…
Air or gas in the mediastinum is called pneumomediastinum. Etiology Pneumomediastinum is typically caused by alveolar rupture which can be due to either a spontaneous or traumatic cause. A spontaneous pneumomediastinum can either be primary without an underlying etiology or…
Pneumothorax is the accumulation of extrapulmonary air within the chest, most commonly from leakage of air from within the lung. Air leaks can be primary or secondary and can be spontaneous, traumatic, iatrogenic, or catamenial ( Table 439.1 ). Pneumothorax…
Pleurisy is the inflammation of the pleura; it may be accompanied by an effusion. The most common cause of pleural effusion in children is bacterial pneumonia (see Chapter 428 ); heart failure (see Chapter 469 ), rheumatologic causes, and metastatic…
Homozygous deficiency of α 1 -antitrypsin (α 1 -AT) rarely produces lung disease in children, but it is an important cause of early-onset severe panacinar pulmonary emphysema in adults in the 3rd and 4th decades of life and a significant…
Pulmonary emphysema consists of distention of air spaces with irreversible disruption of the alveolar septa. It can involve part or all of a lung. Overinflation is distention with or without alveolar rupture and is often reversible. Compensatory overinflation can be…