Respiratory distress associated with acute hydrothorax during transurethral electrocoagulation: a case report

BACKGROUND: In patients undergoing abdominal radiotherapy or transurethral surgery, bladder perforations are a possible complication. Likewise, pleural effusions due to a pleuroperitoneal leak caused by either a congenital or acquired diaphragmatic defect can also occur. We report a case in which a saline solution, which migrated into the abdominal cavity from a bladder perforation during transurethral electrocoagulation, further formed bilateral pleural effusions and caused rapid ventilation failure. CASE PRESENTATION: A patient undergoing radiation therapy and hormone therapy for prostate cancer underwent emergency surgery for electrocoagulation due to hematuria and a rapid drop in hemoglobin. The surgery began under general anesthesia, and we first noticed an increase in airway pressure and a decrease in dynamic lung compliance, followed by abdominal distension. Based on readouts from the respiratory mechanics monitor, we suspected lung abnormalities and performed a pulmonary ultrasound, leading to a diagnosis of bilateral pleural effusions, which we then drained. CONCLUSIONS: Respiratory mechanics monitoring is simple and can be performed at all times during anesthesia, and when combined with pulmonary ultrasound, diagnoses can be made quickly and prevent deaths. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12871-022-01575-y.