Bleb point: Mimicker of pneumothorax in bullous lung disease

Christopher Gelabert, Mathew Nelson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

In patients presenting with severe dyspnea, several diagnostic challenges arise in distinguishing the diagnosis of pneumothorax versus several other pulmonary etiologies like bullous lung disease, pneumonia, interstitial lung disease, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Distinguishing between large pulmonary bullae and pneumothorax is of the utmost importance, as the acute management is very different. While multiple imaging modalities are available, plain radiographs may be inadequate to make the diagnosis and other advanced imaging may be difficult to obtain. Ultrasound has a very high specificity for pneumothorax. We present a case where a large pulmonary bleb mimics the lung point and therefore inaccurately suggests pneumothorax.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)447-449
Number of pages3
JournalWestern Journal of Emergency Medicine
Volume16
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bullous lung disease
  • Lung ultrasound
  • Pneumothorax
  • Radiography
  • Sonography

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Emergency Medicine

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