title: Catheter aspiration for simple pneumothorax.
abstract: A prospective study was conducted in the emergency setting to determine the efficacy of treatment of simple pneumothorax by catheter aspiration. Patients who were successfully treated were discharged to home. Sixty-one patients with a total of 76 pneumothoraces were involved in the study. The overall success rate was 75.6%, with an 82% success rate for needle-induced, 75% for traumatic, and 45% for spontaneous pneumothorax. The duration of symptoms, the size of the pneumothorax, the patient's age, and a prior history of pneumothorax did not affect the outcome. The poorest results were noted with spontaneous pneumothoraces, as would be expected since a majority of these patients have preexistent lung disease. Catheter aspiration of simple pneumothorax offers a cost-effective approach to this clinical problem.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010994:Pleura; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013396:Suction / Q000379:methods