Resumen

CAMPOS GOMEZ, Xiomara  y  VEGA AVALOS, Ana Gabriela. Hemotórax. Med. leg. Costa Rica [online]. 2016, vol.33, n.1, pp.25-34. ISSN 2215-5287.

Hemothorax is a disease in which if not diagnosed and treated in time, threatens the patient’s life. Thoracic traumas account for 25% of trauma in politraumatized patients (Greenfield, 2011), it is paramount to perform an adequate first and secondary physical examination, so we can rule out any problems that merit an emergency operative attitude. The diagnosis is clinical and radiological, taking always into consideration the overall condition of the patient, to choose the most convenient treatment, the fastest and most reliable method to support the clinical diagnosis. The chest tube is the initial choice method, depending on the clinical evolution of the patient a number of other methods can be perform in order to complete the evacuation of the collection and avoid as much as possible the complications; it is very important to make a fast and effective treatment to prevent the liquid from clotting, which can cause empyema or fibrothorax. All health providers and more the physicians in charge of the emergency department and the surgeons, should keep in mind the likely development of a hemothorax in patients suffering unexplained symptoms of hypovolemia in trauma cases, that is why is important to know in depth the characteristics of this disease.

Palabras clave : Hemothorax; Hypovolemia; Diagnosis; Treatment.

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