Correspondence

Spontaneous Pneumothorax as the First Manifestation of Lymphoma: A Rare Presentation and the Importance of Diagnostic Biopsy

Authors: Maureen Okam, MD, Mohammad Alsolaiman MD, Alan Brau, MD, Mariette Austin, MD, Matthew Plymyer, MD

Abstract

To the Editor:


Spontaneous pneumothorax as the first presentation of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is extremely rare and may be attributed to a direct effect of disease or a complication of therapy. 1,2 We found only two other reported instances of spontaneous pneumothorax occurring in untreated lung lymphoma. 2,3 We describe a case of recurrent pneumothoraces secondary to NHL, diagnosed by performing an open lung biopsy.

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References

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3. Chia BL, Chiang SC, Lee SK, Chew CH. Massive bilateral consolidation and recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax due to primary lymphosarcoma of the lung. Med J Aust 1971; 1: 327–329.
 
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