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Pneumothorax with apical bleb

Case contributed by Jeremy Jones
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Acute onset shortness of breath.

Patient Data

Age: 13 years
Gender: Female
x-ray

Right simple pneumothorax.

Medically at the right apex, are a number of apical blebs.  The presumption is that one of these has ruptured resulting in a pneumothorax.

Case Discussion

Presentation with shortness of breath has an extremely wide differential.  In patients where a cause for breathlessness, it is important to think about whether there is an underlying pathology.  

In this case, diagnosis of pnuemothorax is relatively simple, but the diagnosis of the underlying cause (ruptured apical bleb) is key to appropriate management.

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