Usage of central venous catheter for delayed traumatic pneumothorax (Views : 25 times)

Pneumothorax, whether spontaneous, iatrogenic or traumatic, frequently requires drainage, especially in the face of positive pressure ventilation or general anesthesia. The traditional approach with large-bore, rigid chest tube is associated with significant pain and various complications. Recently, less invasive modalities such as pigtail catheter or fine-needle aspiration have been used in selected patients. We report a case of delay-onset pneumothorax after trauma and the patient was treated successfully with the easily available central venous catheter for drainage.