A woman in her thirties, 15 weeks pregnant, underwent acupuncture therapy because of pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. Several hours later she experienced shortness of breath and therefore came to the emergency room. Physical examination revealed tachypnea and reduced breath sounds bilaterally but normal oxygen saturation and blood pressure. Chest X-ray showed bilateral subtotal pneumo­thoraces. Chest tubes were inserted into both pleural cavities and the patient recovered successfully and was discharged in good health 3 days after admission. This case report emphasizes the risks of acupuncture to the chest cavity that in this case resulted in bilateral pneumothoraces, a condition that can become life threatening in this case to both mother and fetus.

Figure 1. Chest X-Ray on arrival at the emergency room subtotal bilateral pneumothoraces. The right sided pneumothorax measured 9 cm from the apex and on the left side it measured 7,5 cm apically.

Figure 2. Chest X-ray showing expanded lungs after the placement of bilateral chest tubes.