Atelectasis

ATELECTASIS

Atelectasis refers to an area of collapsed or nonexpanded lung. It is reversible, butareas of atelectasis predispose for infection due to decreased mucociliary clearance.

The major types are as follows:

·            Obstruction/resorption atelectasis is collapse of lung due to resorption ofair distal to an obstruction; examples include aspiration of a foreign body, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and postoperative atelectasis.

·            Compression atelectasis is atelectasis due to fluid, air, blood, or tumor in thepleural space.

·            Contraction (scar) atelectasis is due to fibrosis and scarring of the lung.

·            Patchy atelectasis is due to a lack of surfactant, as occurs in hyaline membranedisease of newborn or acute (adult) respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).