Catamenial pneumothorax in Ghana: case report and literature review.

Isaac Okyere, Paul Sedem Komla Glover, Paa Kobina Forson, Perditer Okyere, Delali Blood-Dzraku
The Pan African medical journal · 2019 · vol. 33 , pp. 287 · doi:10.11604/pamj.2019.33.287.14187 · PMID:31692942 · W2992993887
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This case report and literature review describes a patient with catamenial pneumothorax diagnosed after laparotomy revealed endometriosis, with successful management via talc pleurodesis.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 · read from full text ⓘ

This paper reports a Ghanaian case of catamenial pneumothorax in a young adult woman, alongside a literature review defining the condition as spontaneous pneumothorax occurring within 72 hours before or after menstruation. After an initially negative laparotomy for suspected ectopic pregnancy, histopathology of a bleeding omental mass showed endometriotic tissue, and the patient later developed recurrent cyclical chest pain and breathlessness leading to the diagnosis. Treatment included chest tube drainage followed by chemical pleurodesis using sterile talc via thoracoscopy, after which she remained well for over two years. The authors note catamenial pneumothorax is rare and often misdiagnosed, and they state its etiology is unknown but could be linked to endometriosis. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it presents endometriotic tissue in the case and discusses endometriosis as a possible etiology of catamenial pneumothorax.

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Abstract

Catamenial pneumothorax is a rare condition that is often misdiagnosed. It is defined as spontaneous pneumothorax occurring within 72 hours before or after onset of menstruation. Etiology is unknown but could be linked to endometriosis. Pleural ablation via thoracoscopy and hormonal therapy are mainstay treatment options to avoid recurrence. We present a case of a young adult female who experienced gradual painless abdominal distention that resolved spontaneously after each menses twelve years post menarche. She was first seen at a peripheral facility where laparotomy undertaken was negative for suspected ectopic pregnancy. However, a bleeding omental mass was noticed and a biopsy taken. Histopathology reported it as an endometriotic tissue. The patient subsequently had recurrent cyclical chest pains and breathlessness leading to the diagnosis of catamenial pneumothorax. She had chemical pleurodesis done with sterile talc after chest tube drainage and has been well over two years now.
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The Pan African Medical Journal (Aug 2019) Catamenial pneumothorax in Ghana: case report and literature review Abstract Catamenial pneumothorax is a rare condition that is often misdiagnosed. It is defined as spontaneous pneumothorax occurring within 72 hours before or after onset of menstruation. Etiology is unknown but could be linked to endometriosis. Pleural ablation via thoracoscopy and hormonal therapy are mainstay treatment options to avoid recurrence. We present a case of a young adult female who experienced gradual painless abdominal distention that resolved spontaneously after each menses twelve years post menarche. She was first seen at a peripheral facility where laparotomy undertaken was negative for suspected ectopic pregnancy. However, a bleeding omental mass was noticed and a biopsy taken. Histopathology reported it as an endometriotic tissue. The patient subsequently had recurrent cyclical chest pains and breathlessness leading to the diagnosis of catamenial pneumothorax. She had chemical pleurodesis done with sterile talc after chest tube drainage and has been well over two years now. Keywords

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Pleurodesis Pneumothorax Adult Chest Pain Chest Pain Drainage Drainage Endometriosis Female Ghana Humans Menstruation Menstruation Pleurodesis Pneumothorax Pneumothorax

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

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