Resuscitation
Volume 72, Issue 1 , Pages 11-25, January 2007

Pre-hospital pleural decompression and chest tube placement after blunt trauma: A systematic review☆

  • Christian Waydhas

      Affiliations

    • Department of Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +49 201 7231302; fax: +49 201 7235936.
    • ,
  • Stefan Sauerland

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Research in Operative Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke, Ostmerheimer Straße 200, 51109 Köln, Germany

Received 20 April 2006; received in revised form 13 June 2006; accepted 20 June 2006.

Summary 

Pre-hospital insertion of chest tubes or decompression of air within the pleural space is one of the controversial topics in emergency medical care of trauma patients. While a wide variety of opinions exist medical personnel on the scene require guidance in situations when tension pneumothorax or progressive pneumothorax is suspected. To ensure evidence based decisions we performed a systematic review of the current literature with respect to the diagnostic accuracy in the pre-hospital setting to identify patients with (tension) pneumothorax, the efficacy and safety of performing pleural decompression in the field and the choice of method and technique for the procedure. The evidence found is presented and discussed and recommendations are drawn from the authors’ perspective.

Keywords: Trauma, Pneumothorax, Tension pneumothorax, Advanced life support (ALS), Thoracostomy, Thoracocentesis

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

☆ A Spanish translated version of the summary of this article appears as Appendix in the final online version at doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2006.06.025.

PII: S0300-9572(06)00340-6

doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2006.06.025

Resuscitation
Volume 72, Issue 1 , Pages 11-25, January 2007

Article Tools