[Pulmonary infarction as a cause of pneumothorax: report of two cases (author's transl)].

Pulmonary infarction is a very uncommon cause of pneumothorax. The authors report two patients with pneumothorax arising as a complication of pulmonary infarction. One was a 72-year-old man who had hemoptysis, pleural effusion, and alveolar condensation. Four days later he developed a hydropneumothorax and pulmonary cavitation. He died of heart failure. The pulmonary infarction was not septic in this case. The other patient was a 12-year-old boy who suffered a septic embolism with cavitation as a result of an infected wound. He later developed a tension pneumothorax and died in a state of shock. The authors have found only 16 cases of pneumothorax as a complication of pulmonary infarction in the literature. It is surprising that, even though all infarctions are in contact with the pleural surface, the incidence of pneumothorax is not higher. The infarctions may or may not be septic. Cavitation is not necessarily present, though infarctions are usually cavitated before pneumothorax develops. Tension pneumothorax occurs in some cases.