Could CPAP Re-inflate a Collapsed Lung?

I know this is WAY out in left field, but gotta ask just in case...

My 84 year old mother has a partially collapsed lung, the bottom of the left lower lobe. Her fragile medical condition makes putting a chest tube through the side risky. She is on antibiotics and a nebulizer which have had no effect. Her doctor has a "wait and see" stance (for a few weeks now). In the meantime she has very labored breathing, horrible cough and congestion, and such pain that she cries and shakes when she coughs. She has CHF but no COPD, emphysema, or other lung disease.

Has anyone ever heard of using a cpap to reinflate a collapsed lung? Can anyone tell me why that would not work? I'm grasping at straws because I just hate to see her suffer. Don't worry, I'm not going to sneak my machine into her room. Tomorrow I'm calling a pulmonologist if the GP doesn't become more proactive. He seems to confuse heroic measures with quality of life measures.

It was just a thought.

Kathy

NO.

not near enough pressure.

kteague wrote:He seems to confuse heroic measures with quality of life measures.

Kathy, I don't wish to be indelicate, but by your choice of the words, "heroic measures," if you're referring to your mother's living will specifying no heroic measures be taken which would prolong the dying process; you'd need to discuss any medical treatment with her doctor (and your mother, if she's able) to determine if it would be considered life-prolonging or not. Sometimes there are specifics in a living will (such as refusing intubation) but they can't possibly cover every conceivable scenario. I hope with the pain she is experiencing, she's on pain medication and not suffering. I'm sorry for what you and your mother are going through. My thoughts are with you.

I went through this with my dad. He had cancer that traveled to many parts of his body but in the end it was the tumors in his chest that would eat away at his lungs until one would collapse. We went through this no less then 3 times, 1 time on each side and finally the the last one on the left and he gave up on fighting it and we took him home to die.

When I was talking with the Doctors about how they inflate a lung she told me inflate is incorrect. You see she said its like a ballon in a bottle if you pump air in and the ballon has a hole in it you will collapse it if its part full and you will never get it to heal and inflate. So to get the lung reinflated the put a hole ether from the top of the chest down or through the side depending on how many times you fight it and SUCK the fluids out and the lung back up and inflated via a hose and suction pump. Then they pump in an inflammation agent to basically irritate the chest wall and the lungs and make the lung STICK up to the inside of the chest wall. Hoping that by doing this the hole will heal in the time it takes for this all to work and or it plugs itself on the chest wall. Once it heals the lung will stay up and be fine.

This though is VERY PAINFUL. My father was a type of man who hated Doctors to the point of once pulling his own tooth with a vise grips. During these proceeders was the only time I ever saw my father cry in pain in my life, he nearly crushed my hand as I was there through it all.

So I am sorry to say no I really don't think there is a type of xpap that will help. I am very very sorry to hear that your going through this. My hopes and sympathies go with you.

My sympathies to your mother. I can appreciate her pain. I went thru a spontaneous pneumothorax of the left lung back in the early '80s.

Discuss this w/your mother. I understand your feelings that perhaps the doctors have pretty much written your mom off because of her age. I went thru that w/my mother and her doctors as well. But mom and I were able to discuss what HER wants were and I followed thru w/the doctors via HER desires. When she and I were on the same wave length I waded in w/a vengence. There were times I wanted to push harder than she wanted me to push and it was hard to stay back and respect her wishes but I did. I've never regretted that I fought to see that my mother was allowed to live her life as SHE wanted to live it even when it was not what I wanted for her.

with a partially collapsed lung there is air between the lung and the lining that surrounds it. Purpose of that tube is to relief that pressure so the lung can re inflate. The fear always being with a collapsed lung is infection can set in (reason why she is on the antibiotics).

CPAP pressure would only serve to increase that pressure between the lung and the lining. If she is having great difficulty breathing then she probably should be hospitalized.

Hope she gets better.

I am sorry to hear your mother is not well kteague.
I have to add that hades161 is correct about the "inflate" beeing incorrect, since i also had a relative with pneumothorax. I also remember that "draining" was very painfull for her.

As about your question, I am not a doctor, but I read on page 3 of my remstar manual that contraindications include pneumothorax.

I hope she gets better soon,
- Chris

Cpap cant reinflate the lungs, this is why. The lungs are surrounded by two membranes call the Pleural membranes, btw this two membranes there has to be a negative pressure (-5cm of H20), this negative pressure is what causes the lung to reinflate after the lungs have exhale the air out. Cpap is positive pressure, so it is a contraindication as somebody has mentioned it, for a pneumothorax. Cpap COULD worsen the problem but cpap CANT never help the problem. If the pneumothorax is small, the body will eventually reabsorb it, if it is a big one a chest tube is needed, but if your grandma is very ill and FRAGILE probably doctors are just being conservative. Just encourage her to cough alot and to take deep breaths a lot (use the spirometer). Hope she gets better.

Note: I meant encourage her to cough after she has been given her pain meds. She needs to cough otherwise: atelectasis -> pneumonia.

when my daughter's lung was collapsed it was from fluid in the pleural area around the lung. She had a tube put in her back to drain the fluid off so the lung could reinflate. I read that your mom is too fragile medically to have the tube put in for drainage, are they trying lasix or some other way to get the fluid off?
Just wondering

Kathy,
So very sorry that your mom is having these problems. It is very difficult to watch our parents suffer. You both will be in my prayers.
Esther
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