evaluation of clinical background and yield of chest tube thoracotomy in hydropneumothorax , a pulmonologist point of view.

Introduction: the enlightenment of hydro-pneumothorax arrived in former times ofprimitive greece. it is a term which explains simultaneous existence of both free airand fluid (i.e., pneumothorax and hydrothorax) in the pleural space. the goal was tocontribute and update the knowledge of clinical aspect as well as yield of diagnosticmodalities in handling the cases of hydropneumothorax.materials and methods: diagnosed cases of hydropneumothorax from casualty androutine opd are considered. detail of clinical background entered. patients weresubjected for analysis of sputum, blood and pleural fluid. radiologicalinvestigation was done. patients underwent tube thoracotomy procedure andobserved till resolution.results: total 97 subjects had participated. among them 76(78.35%) were men and21 (21.64%) women. 91(93.85%) subjects had shortness of breath. 34 subjects(35.05%) had tuberculosis in the past. sputum smear afb was positive in 19 subjects(19.58%). plural >luid genexpert mtb was detected in 11 subjects (11.34 %) andmgit culture positive in 23(23.71%) subjects. plural >luid gram stain culture wasconclusive in 24 (24.74%) subjects. pleural >luid ada was raised in 74 (76.28%)subjects. hypoxemia was observed in 46 (47.42%). in 38 (39.19%) cases chesttube was removed between 31 to 60 days.conclusion: tuberculosis turns up as the most common aetiology ofhydropneumothorax and duration required for resolution is uncertain. evaluationof pleural fluid (cytology, microbiological culture, biochemical measure) andcomputed tomography were essential to reach aetiology of condition. chesttube thoracotomy remains most practiced modality of treatmentin hydropneumothorax. however advanced techniques have promising outcome andit’s an opportunity to research further.