TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1986//
TI  - Alternate therapy for traumatic pneumothorax in "pocket shooters"
JO  - Annals of emergency medicine
A1  - Wisdom, K.
A1  - Nowak, R. M.
A1  - Richardson, H. H.
A1  - Martin, G. B.
A1  - Obeid, F. N.
A1  - Tomlanovich, M. C.
SP  - 428
EP  - 432
VL  - 15
IS  - 4
N2  - Traumatic pneumothorax is a common complication of the IV drug abusers in Detroit who utilize the "pocket shot" (the central approach to the internal jugular vein). Fourteen patients who sustained a total of 16 pneumothoraces (two with bilateral collapse) and who underwent catheter aspiration of a simple pneumothorax (CASP) were studied prospectively. The sizes ranged from less than 10% to 100%. In addition, there was one tension pneumothorax and one pneumomediastinum. The 16 CASP procedures produced 13 successful lung expansions (82%). The remaining three were treated with tube thoracostomy and admission. Twelve of the 13 patients in whom the procedure was successful returned for followup, and all of these had 100% continued full expansion. CASP appears to be a safe, efficacious, and cost-effective treatment for the drug abuser with simple traumatic pneumothorax. With the current pressures of cost containment, this less-invasive approach with outpatient management should be studied as initial potential treatment for any simple pneumothorax.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0196-0644
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -