Increased alveolar fluid clearance following thoracotomy: report of a case and results of an analysis.

Alveolar fluid clearance was studied in the resected lung of a 58-year-old man who had undergone exploratory thoracotomy 9 days earlier. An isosmolar albumin solution was instilled into the distal air spaces, and the albumin and electrolyte concentrations were measured over 4 h. Alveolar sodium and fluid clearance had increased by nearly 200% from the control values in the resected lungs of patients without prior thoracotomy (n = 5), and histological examination showed that the number of alveolar type II epithelial cells was markedly elevated. These results suggest that an increase in the number of alveolar type II cells may accelerate alveolar fluid clearance under certain clinical conditions.