Differential Outcome of Fissure-positioned Tube in Closed Thoracostomy for Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Abstract

Closed tube thoracostomy is often used to evacuate a primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP). Occasionally, this procedure is complicated by placement of the chest tube location in the fissural area instead of pleural space. There is a paucity of studies on outcomes according to chest tube placement. As such, we investigated outcomes of chest tube placement in fissural versus pleural area in closed thoracostomy for PSP. Patients between 14 and 65 years of age who had been treated with chest tube insertion to evacuate PSP were selected based on retrospective review of medical records. Patients selected for this study received chest tube placement at either the fissural or pleural spaces. Those with pre-existing lung disease or those transferred into our hospital after closed thoracostomy were excluded. Of the 255 patients with PSP treated with chest tube insertion, 172 patients were enrolled in this study. Twenty-nine (16.9%) had fissural tube placement and 143 (83.1%) had pleural tube placement. A higher proportion of patients in the fissural versus pleural group required additional chest tube insertion (20.7% vs 4.9%, P = 0.010, respectively). There was no significant difference in body mass index, smoker status, symptom duration, number of episodes, post-thoracostomy complications, need for subsequent management, and duration of hospitalization in either group. In closed thoracostomy for PSP, there is a higher chance of tube dysfunction when the chest tube is positioned at fissural area as compared with the pleural space.