Simple Pneumothorax

• Air leak into the pleural cavity, but there is no one way valve and so this does not “tension”
• Reduced air entry and hyper-resonant percussion note on affected side.
• Differs from tension pneumothorax in the clinical state of the patient. Those with a simple pneumothorax may be in pain and short of breath, but do not present with the profound distress and compromise of those with a tension pneumothorax
• ABCDE
• Oxygen
• Transfer to the Emergency Department as soon as possible

Pictorial representation of a simple pneumothorax