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Case Reports
. 2025 May 8;20(7):3602-3606.
doi: 10.1016/j.radcr.2025.04.033. eCollection 2025 Jul.

Catamenial pneumothorax: A case report

Luong Ngoc Trung  1 , Viet Huan Le  2 , Pham Nguyen Thanh Nam  1 , Tran Minh Bao Luan  3   4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Catamenial pneumothorax: A case report

Luong Ngoc Trung et al. Radiol Case Rep. .

Abstract

Catamenial pneumothorax is defined as spontaneous, recurrent pneumothorax occurring in women of reproductive age and associated with the menstrual cycle. This condition is rare and challenging to diagnose, despite increasing awareness due to case and series reports in recent years. Here, we present a clinical case of a 47-year-old woman with a history of recurrent right-sided pneumothorax requiring chest drainage multiple times from 2016 to 2022. Her pneumothorax episodes were cyclical, varying in severity. The diagnosis of catamenial pneumothorax was established, and she underwent thoracoscopic surgery to repair the lesions. One year postoperatively, there has been no recurrence of pneumothorax.

Keywords: Catamenial pneumothorax; Diaphragmatic defects; Thoracic endometriosis.

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Figures

Fig 1:
Fig. 1
Chest X-ray results. (A) X-ray on September 8, 2022: Significant right-sided pneumothorax. (B) X-ray on September 11, 2022: Right-sided pleural drainage tube. (C) X-ray on September 20, 2022: No pneumothorax detected. (D) X-ray on September 29, 2022: No pneumothorax detected.
Fig 2:
Fig. 2
Lesions detected on the diaphragmatic surface.
Fig 3:
Fig. 3
Image of right diaphragm repair and suturing. (A) Right diaphragm repair and suturing. (B) A suspected diaphragmatic lesion was excised for pathology.
Fig 4:
Fig. 4
Histopathological image. (A) Labeled as “Endometriosis of right pleural cavity”: Sections show papillary serosal surface lined by mesothelial cells and covered focally by aggregates of mixed inflammatory cells mainly macrophages and smaller amount of eosinophils and neutrophils. Fibrous stroma is infiltrated focally by lymphocytes. No tissue suspicious for Endometriotic tissue is seen. Hemosiderin pigment is not observed. (B) Right diaphragm: The diaphragm show focal glandular structures that could not excluded endometrial glands. Endometrial stroma is not obvious.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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