RBC is a composite term describing one or more single or combined complications ( acute, sub-acute and chronic ) such as cardiac tamponade, hemothorax, bloody pleural and pericardial effusions, and fibrothorax which occur in 15-25 % of cardiac surgery patients.
32.
One or more chest tubes with one end inside the opened pleural cavity and the other submerged under saline solution inside a sealed container, forming an airtight drainage system are necessary to remove air and fluid from the pleural cavity, preventing the development of pneumothorax or hemothorax.
33.
Various kinds of pleural effusion, depending on the nature of the fluid and what caused its entry into the pleural space, are hydrothorax ( serous fluid ), hemothorax ( blood ), urinothorax ( urine ), chylothorax ( chyle ), or pyothorax ( pus ).
34.
Lung injuries that can be caused by penetrating trauma include pulmonary laceration ( a cut or tear ) pulmonary contusion ( a bruise ), hemothorax ( an accumulation of blood in the chest cavity outside of the lung ), pneumothorax ( an accumulation of air in the chest cavity ) and hemopneumothorax ( accumulation of both blood and air ).
35.
When cardiopulmonary status is compromised ( i . e . when the fluid or air has its repercussions on the function of heart and lungs ), due to air ( significant pneumothorax ), fluid ( pleural fluid ) or blood ( hemothorax ) outside the lung, then this procedure is usually replaced with tube thoracostomy, the placement of a large tube in the pleural space.
36.
However absolute EIT ( a-EIT ) also has the potential to become a clinically useful tool for lung imaging, as this approach would allow one to directly distinguish between lung conditions which result from regions with lower resistivity ( e . g . hemothorax, pleural effusion, atelectasis, lung edema ) and those with higher resistivity ( e . g . pneumothorax, emphysema ).
