Presentation
Thoracic tube removal follow-up.
Patient Data
Thorax radiograph revealed a small pneumoperitoneum, shown by a small amount of gas below the diaphragm bilaterally.
Also, blunting of the left costophrenic angle is noted, indicating a small pleural effusion.
See annotated images below.
Pneumoperitoneum is shown by the white arrowheads.
Blunting of the left costophrenic angle is shown by the red dotted line, the right costophrenic angle is preserved and highlighted by the green dotted line for comparison.
Case Discussion
Pneumoperitoneum is the presence of gas within the peritoneal cavity, which can have many causes.
Pleural effusion represents the abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity. The characteristics of the fluid usually cannot be determined by a simple radiograph and further clinical correlation is necessary to properly identify it.
As pleural effusion is a generic term to denote the abnormal presence of fluid in the pleural cavity, it can be caused by many different conditions.
In the present case, the patient suffered multiple knife injuries which led to the placement of a thoracic tube. The left chest wall and the diaphragm were perforated. Both radiographic findings can be related to the known trauma.
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