The Use of Autologous Blood Patch in Ullrich Muscular Dystrophy and Recurrent Pneumothorax

We present the case of a 19-year-old female with Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD1, a collagen VI defect) who developed a right-sided pneumothorax after choking on a piece of meat. She received two chest tubes (pigtails) that resolved the pneumothorax. She was discharged in stable condition, and a chest radiograph two weeks later showed total resolution of the pneumothorax. Two months after this episode, the patient presented with another small, right-sided pneumothorax that shortly progressed to extension throughout the right side of the chest. These pneumothoraces were treated with three different pigtails, but this intervention was ineffective. Providers chose to utilize an autologous blood patch, which is an injection of the patient’s own blood instilled in the pleural cavity through a chest drain. The blood forms a clot and subsequently seals the lung tissues through inflammation. This technique was chosen because the patient had advanced neuromuscular weakness with chronic respiratory failure. Also, our patient was not a candidate for chemical or surgical pleurodesis due to the nature of the persistent pneumothorax and the underlying lung fibrosis and collagen defect. Subsequent reaccumulation of the pneumothorax led to a second blood patch procedure, which proved effective. The patient recovered and was discharged in stable condition with no further episodes of pneumothorax over the subsequent 14 months from the initial episode.