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Spontaneous pneumothorax: time to depart from the ‘chest tube underwater seal’?

Egyptian Journal of Bronchology volume 12, pages 137–141 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Initial management of spontaneous pneumothorax has traditionally been inserting a chest tube and attaching it to an underwater seal and hospitalizing the patient. New options have emerged that allow management to be on an outpatient basis without the need for hospitalization. These options are needle aspiration (similar to aspiration of effusion) or attaching the chest tube to a one-way valve. So, is chaining a patient with spontaneous pneumothorax to their hospital bed because of the heavy jar attached to the chest tube the most prudent way of management? This review attempts to answer this question.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Respiratory Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford, UK

    Maged Hassan MSc

  2. Department of Chest Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

    Maged Hassan MSc & Hany Shaarawy

Authors
  1. Maged Hassan MSc
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  2. Hany Shaarawy
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Correspondence to Maged Hassan MSc.

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Hassan, M., Shaarawy, H. Spontaneous pneumothorax: time to depart from the ‘chest tube underwater seal’?. Egypt J Bronchol 12, 137–141 (2018). https://doi.org/10.4103/ejb.ejb_58_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/ejb.ejb_58_17

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