Atelectasis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Atelectasis**
*Classification & external resources*
ICD-10	J 98.1
ICD-9	518.0
DiseasesDB	10940
MedlinePlus	000065
eMedicine	med/180

Atelectasis is defined as a state in which the lung, in whole or in part, is collapsed or without air.^[1] It is a condition where the alveoli are deflated, as distinct from pulmonary consolidation.

1 Causes
2 Symptoms
3 Diagnosis
4 Treatment
5 Footnotes
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Causes

The most common cause is post-surgical atelectasis, characterized by splinting, restricted breathing after abdominal surgery. Smokers and the elderly are at an increased risk. Outside of this context, atelectasis implies some blockage of a bronchiole or bronchus, which can be within the airway (foreign body, mucus plug), from the wall (tumor, usually SCC) or compressing from the outside (tumor, lymph node, tubercle). Another cause is poor surfactant spreading during inspiration, causing an increase in surface tension which tends to collapse smaller alveoli. There are several types of atelectasis according to their underlying mechanisms or the distribution of alveolar collapse ; resoprtion, compression, microatelectasis and contraction atelectasis.

[edit] Symptoms

cough, but not prominent
chest pain (rare)
breathing difficulty
low oxygen saturation
fever
pleural effusion (transudate type)

[edit] Diagnosis

chest X-ray

Post-surgical atelectasis will be bibasal in pattern.

[edit] Treatment

As per the underlying cause. Post-surgical atelectasis is treated by physiotherapy, focusing on deep breathing and encouraging coughing. Atelectasis does not require antibiotics. Ambulation is also highly encouraged to improve lung inflation.