A Rare Case of Trapped Lung Cause by Chronic Pleural Effusion: Another Etiology of This Uncommon Disease

Abstract

Trapped lung is defined by the inability of the lung to expand and fill the thoracic cavity. It is an outcome of fibrosis and thickening of visceral pleural preventing lung re-expansion. We present a 62 -year-old women with past medical history of chronic kidney disease and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction who presented with bilateral pleural effusions. Effusion on the right side was tapped draining a transudative fluid. Chest X ray on the following day showed a pneumothorax at the right lung base, the margins of which coincided which that of the effusion. The following day she now developed a hydro-pneumothorax in the same location. One rare yet reported cause of trapped lung is chronic pleural effusions in the setting of decompensated heart failure.