A person undergoing a urinary tract procedure may suffer a transmural defect, resulting in internal leakage of urine. This can lead to death if massive.
Patient selection: urine leak following urinary procedure (nephrolithotomy, etc).
The urine can result in:
(1) urinary ascites
(2) urinothorax
A large urinothorax can cause a lung to collapse, causing sudden death.
The possibility of a urinothorax should be considered after a procedure affecting the urinary tract, especially if there is an unexplained appearance of pleural fluid.
Chemical analysis of the pleural fluid can quickly distinguish the fluid from an exudate and transudate.
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