Definition
Pulmonary infarction is a relatively frequent complication of pulmonary embolism (it affects about 10% of patients who go against this pathological condition). The obstruction of a pulmonary artery by an embolus (usually a blood clot deriving from a thrombosis of the veins of the lower limb, such as the saphenous vein or the femoral veins) can in fact determine the necrosis of the pulmonary tissue deprived of blood, therefore of oxygen and nutrients. This occurrence, called pulmonary infarction, is not particularly frequent because the pulmonary circulation is strongly anastomosed with the bronchial arterial network, of systemic origin, normally able to supply blood downstream from the obstruction (there are numerous vascular bridges, therefore of natural bypasses). Furthermore, the lung parenchyma benefits from a direct oxygenation guaranteed by alveolar ventilation.
In addition to patients predisposed to deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary infarction is more frequent in patients with heart disease (left heart failure, mitral stenosis), COPD, tumors, severe atherosclerosis or haematological disorders (eg sickle cell disease).
Symptoms of pulmonary infarction include the sudden onset of a violent stabbing thoracic pain, which is accentuated with the acts of the breath and cough (pleural pain), as well as dyspnea, tachypnea, cyanosis and cough with hemoptysis or haemoptysis (expectoration of material consisting almost entirely of mucus and blood) and fever.
Most common symptoms and signs *
- Acute abdomen
- Cyanosis
- Dyspnoea
- Chest pain
- Pain in the sternum
- hemoptysis
- hemothorax
- Hemoptysis
- Temperature
- Shortness of breath
- Solitary pulmonary nodule
- tachypnoea
- Cough
- Pleural effusion
Further indications
Pulmonary infarction can be resolved with resorption and fibrosis (formation of scar tissue) or with a complete resorption that leaves a normal lung tissue (incomplete infarction). By itself, pulmonary infarction has a good prognosis, which still suffers from the possible appearance of complications and the underlying disease that generated it.
