Two unexpected deaths from pneumothorax.

Abstract Two patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax died despite intensive treatment. In the first the pneumothorax had been present for 10 days, and, after insertion of a chest drain, pulmonary œdema developed unilaterally, followed by cardiac arrest. She was resuscitated, but later died of a tension pneumothorax on the other side, probably due to cardiac massage and artificial ventilation. In the second patient, after insertion of a chest drain, mediastinal emphysema spread to the head and neck, causing fatal obstruction of the hypopharynx.