In message <[log in to unmask]>, Robert Anthony COCKS
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>BTW, what does the list think about the practice of aspirating small
>spontaneous pneumothoraces ?
snip
>I've
>treated dozens of these conservatively with careful advice to the patient on
>activity and when to seek further help, and they have all resolved by 1-2
>weeks. Anyone had their fingers burned by doing similar ?
We would tend to do the same. The British Thoracic Society do some
guidelines on the subject, with cautions about symptoms and pre-existing
lung disease, age etc. We would not intervene with spont PTX up to 10%
of the lung width. We re-XRay at 24-48 hrs (to pick up asymptomatic
deterioration), and then they all get referred to an early outpatients
assessment by our (very helpful) chest physician. The advice given is
important: no exertion or flying, to attend stat or call 999 if any
worsening symptoms. None of our catchement area live more than 20
minutes away from hospital. How common is it for stable spontaneous PTX
to become tension PYX?
===========================================================================
Goat
(e-mail: [log in to unmask])
Sussex, U.K.
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