Pneumothorax

A pneumothorax occurs when air enters the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall, causing the lung to partially or completely collapse. It can result from trauma, lung disease, medical procedures, or occur spontaneously. Point-of-care lung ultrasound has become an important tool for rapid bedside detection of pneumothorax, particularly in emergency and critical care settings. The key ultrasound finding is the absence of “lung sliding” — the normal shimmering movement seen at the pleural line as the lung expands and deflates with breathing. Other signs include the absence of B-lines and the presence of a “lung point,” where sliding lung meets non-sliding lung at the edge of the pneumothorax. Ultrasound has been shown to be more sensitive than supine chest X-ray for pneumothorax detection.