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Friday, February 12, 2016
Blood in lungs
my boss`s dad is currently in icu now. he has low count of blood. last week the doctor told my boss that he has fluid in his lung (water) and they need to remove it using tubes.. but instead of the fluid coming out, it`s blood that came out of the tube. the doctors cannot explain why blood is coming out instead of the fluid. can you answer this? thanks.
It is difficult to know exactly where the blood is coming from by the context of your question. However, if it is in the pleural space (space between the lung and rib cage), then that would be a hemothorax (blood in the pleural space). Many conditions can cause hemothorax including trauma, cancer, pulmonary embolism (blood clot), asbestos, previous heart surgery, or the blood being too thin from anticoagulants.
James N Allen, Jr, MD
Clinical Professor of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University