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Abstract

Acupuncture is a therapy that is over 2000 years old, having recently become popular as a practice in Western culture. This therapy consists of inserting fine needles to alleviate symptoms such as pain or nausea. This article focuses on a pneumothorax secondary to acupuncture case. A 20-year-old man came to the Emergency Department with pleuritic pain in the right scapular region. The pain appeared after an acupuncture session performed for low back pain. On physical examination, a eupneic patient was observed, but with some difficulty in completing sentences, with O2 saturation of 98% in room air, with a slight decrease in vesicular murmur on auscultation of the upper right hemithorax and hypertympanism on percussion of the same area, with notorious pain facies, pain on right intercostal palpation and two dorsal punctiform wounds compatible with the insertion of needles.
Chest X-ray revealed a right pneumothorax, so a chest drain was placed. After resolution, the user was discharged with indication for control in primary health care.