What's the most likely diagnosis?
- 24 year-old with shooting pain in chest
- Atelectasis
- Pneumonia
- Chylothorax
- Hemothorax
- Congestive heart failure
Answer:
4. Hemothorax
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Hemothorax
- Hemothorax is blood in the pleural cavity
- Most often results from trauma to intrathoracic structures
- Exact distinction between a “bloody pleural effusion” and a hemothorax is not well defined
- Some use a fluid hematocrit >50% to define hemothorax
- Delayed appearance of a hemothorax can occur from rupture of a chest-wall hematoma or delayed perforation of an intercostal artery by a rib fracture
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