Pneumothorax

Pneumothorax with Lung Point | Pooja Sheth MD | Bronx, NY

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This patient was hit by a car. After initial evaluation in hospital, he was transferred to a trauma center with a known pneumothorax. He was breathing comfortably, not hypoxic or dyspneic.

POCUS Thoracic: At the start of the clip the pleura is ‘shimmering', indicating no pneumothorax in that rib space. As the clip progresses into the next rib space a lung point is seen, highly specific for pneumothorax (PMID: 11126253). A lung point is essentially the border of the pneumothorax.

Pearls: If it will not impede care, the learner can build POCUS skills by evaluating known pathology. Two potential false positives to be aware of that can be confused with a lung point are 1) the diaphragm and 2) the heart border.