Unilateral Pulmonary Edema in the Lateral Decubitus Position: A Case Report. |
Hye Won Shin, Young Sun Seo, Hun Cho, Hye Won Lee, Hae Ja Lim, Suk Min Yoon, Sung Ho Chang |
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea. |
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Abstract |
Characteristically pulmonary edema is bilateral, unless there is an underlying defect or abnormality in the cardiopulmonary system. Unilateral pulmonary edema following general anesthesia is a rare complication in a healthy patient. The etiology of unilateral pulmonary edema include, the re-expansion of a collapsed lung, unilateral pulmonary veno-occulusive disease, pulmonary contusion, compression of pulmonary vasculatures, cerebral autonomic dysfunction, bronchial obstruction and severe ischemic left ventricular dysfunction. We describe a 52-yr-old patient who developed acute unilateral pulmonary edema after a total hip replacement athroplasty in the lateral decubitus position.
The patient recovered following 16 hours of intensive treatment involving fluid restriction, diuretics, sedation, and continuous positive airway pressure ventilation. |
Key Words:
edema; position; pulmonary; unilateral |
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