Spontaneous hemopneumothorax: a rare but life-threatening entity.

Objectives: Spontaneous hemopneumothorax (SHP) is a rare disorder, complicating 1-12% of patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. We conducted a retrospective review in order to study this potentially life-threatening condition and compared our experience with reports in the international literature.

Methods: Between 1970 and 2000, 3489 patients were treated in our department with spontaneous pneumothorax.