A 28-year-old man is brought to the emergency department via ambulance after a high-speed motor vehicle collision. He is agitated and in severe respiratory distress. Vital signs are heart rate 135/min, blood pressure 75/40 mm Hg, and respiratory rate 32/min. Oxygen saturation is 88% on a non-rebreather mask. Physical examination reveals distended neck veins, absent breath sounds over the right hemithorax, and tracheal deviation to the left. Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in management?
- Immediate tube thoracostomy on the rightCevap
- BPortable chest radiograph
- CComputed tomography of the chest
- DImmediate pericardiocentesis
- EEndotracheal intubation prior to pleural decompression
Cevap
Immediate tube thoracostomy on the right
This patient's presentation of severe hypotension, tachycardia, absent unilateral breath sounds, distended neck veins, and tracheal deviation is the classic clinical picture of a right-sided tension pneumothorax. Tension pneumothorax is a life-threatening emergency causing obstructive shock. The increased intrathoracic pressure compresses the superior and inferior vena cava, severely reducing venous return and cardiac output. Because this is a clinical diagnosis, the most appropriate next step in an unstable patient is immediate pleural decompression (tube or needle thoracostomy) before any imaging is obtained.
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Anahtar Kavram
Clinical diagnosis and immediate procedural management of tension pneumothorax