Spontaneous resolution of a large traumatic pneumothorax

Pre-hospital intercostal chest drains in South Africa: A modified Delphi study

INTRODUCTION

Trauma is one of the most common causes of death in low- and middle-income countries, with thoracic injury accounting for 20-25% of these deaths worldwide. The current management of a life-threatening pre-hospital pneumothorax is with a needle chest decompression, however, definitive care for a pneumothorax and/or haemothorax is still the insertion of an intercostal chest drain. The aim of this study was to seek expert opinion and consensus on the placement of ICDs in the pre-hospital emergency care setting in South Africa.

METHODS

A three-round modified Delphi study was undertaken with an expert panel drawn from local emergency care experts consisting of physicians and emergency medical service practitioners. Participants supplied opinion statements in round 1 under headings derived from common emerging themes found in the literature. During round 2 participants used a 9-point Likert scale to rate their consensus on each statement and in round 3 they were able to change their position based on the earlier panel distributions. A consensus percentage of 60% was set within a narrow margin of 'strongly agree' or 'strongly disagree'.

RESULTS

A total of 22 experts took part as panel members. There were 123 opinion statements produced from round 1, of which 21 (17%) reached consensus in round 2. At the end of round 3 another four statements reached consensus, bringing the total up to 25 (20%).

CONCLUSION

Definitive care of a life-threating pneumothorax and/or haemothorax must be sought emergently. The insertion of an ICD, under select conditions, may be required in the pre-hospital setting in South Africa.

Conservative Management in Traumatic Pneumothoraces: An Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Traumatic pneumothoraces are a common consequence of major trauma. Despite this, there is a paucity of literature regarding their optimal management, including the role of conservative treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the treatment, complications, and outcomes of traumatic pneumothoraces in patients presenting to a major trauma center.

METHODS

The prospectively collected Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN) database was used to identify all patients presenting with traumatic pneumothoraces to a UK major trauma center from April 2012 to December 2016. Demographics, mechanism of injury, injury severity score (ISS), management, and outcomes were analyzed.

RESULTS

Six hundred two patients were included during the study period. Mean age was 48 years (SD, 22 years), and 73% were men. Mean ISS was 26 and inpatient mortality was 9%. Of the 602 traumatic pneumothoraces, 277 of 602 (46%) were initially treated conservatively. Two hundred fifty-two of 277 patients in this cohort (90%) did not require subsequent chest tube insertion, including the majority of patients (56 of 62 [90%]) who were receiving positive pressure ventilation (PPV) on admission. The hazard ratio (HR) for failure of conservative management showed no difference between the ventilated and nonventilated patients (HR, 1.1; P = .84). Only the presence of a large hemothorax was associated with an increased likelihood of failure of conservative management.

CONCLUSIONS

In the largest observational study of traumatic pneumothoraces published to date, > 90% of patients whose pneumothorax was managed conservatively never required subsequent tube drainage. Importantly, this also applies to patients requiring PPV, with no significant increased risk of failure of expectant management. These data support a role for conservative management in traumatic pneumothoraces.

Large pneumothorax in blunt chest trauma: Is a chest drain always necessary in stable patients? A case report

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Not all patients with large blunt traumatic pneumothorax need tube thoracostomy.

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Current recommendations for tube placement in blunt traumatic pneumothorax may needs to be reevaluated.

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Stable patients with large pneumothorax due to blunt trauma can be treated conservatively.

Introduction

Pneumothorax is the most common potentially life-threatening blunt chest injury. The management of pneumothorax depends upon the etiology, its size and hemodynamic stability of the patient.

Most clinicians agree that chest drainage is essential for the management of traumatic large pneumothorax. Herein, we present a case of large pneumothorax in blunt chest trauma patient that resolved spontaneously without a chest drain.

Presentation of case

A 63- year- old man presented to the Emergency Department complaining of left lateral chest pain due to a fall on his chest at home. On examination, he was hemodynamically stable. An urgent chest X-ray showed evidence of left sided pneumothorax. CT scan of the chest showed pneumothorax of more than 30% of the left hemithorax (around 600 ml of air) with multiple left ribs fracture. Patient refused tube thoracostomy and was admitted to surgical department for close observation. The patient was managed conservatively without chest tube insertion. A repeat CT scan of the chest has shown complete resolution of the pneumothorax.

Discussion

The clinical spectrum of pneumothorax varies from asymptomatic to life threatening tension pneumothorax. In stable patients, conservative management can be safe and effective for small pneumothorax. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second reported case in the English literature with large pneumothorax which resolved spontaneously without chest drain.

Conclusion

Blunt traumatic large pneumothorax in a clinically stable patient can be managed conservatively. Current recommendations for tube placement may need to be reevaluated. This may reduce morbidity associated with chest tube thoracostomy.