Haemothorax is a clinical entity that in most cases can be caused by trauma

, coagulopathy, or iatrogenic causes through procedures such as central line

insertion, thoracocentesis, pleural biopsies. It is defined as a pleural fluid

with hematocrit greater than 50% of the patient’s blood, although in cases

of long standing haemothorax due to haemodilution, hematocrit level can

be lower mimicking a hemorrhagic exudation. Therefore a hematocrit of

25-50% of the patients blood can raise the suspicion of haemothorax.

Spontaneous haemothorax (SH) is a subcategory of haemothorax that

involves the accumulation of blood within the pleural space in the absence

of trauma or other causes. The clinical presentation is variable and include

s a rapid progression of symptoms of chest pain and dyspnea that can be

life threatening when hemodynamic instability and hypovolemic shock

occurs.