ABSTRACT
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of the chest tube drainage [CTD] and the needle aspiration [NA] in the treatment of primary Spontaneous pneumothorax [SP]
Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, seventy patients suffering SP were divided equally into two subgroups, as follows: [A] CTD and [B] NA. The immediate and one-week rate of the treatments was the primary endpoints. Postoperative complications, length of hospital stay and incidence of pneumothorax recurrence during one-year follow up were also recorded
Results: The immediate success of treatment was 68.5% and 54.2% of patients in CTD and NA groups, respectively that showed no significant difference between study groups [P: 0.16]. The complete lung expansion after one week observed in 32 [91.4%] of NA group and 33 [94.2%] patients in CTD group [P: 0.5]. Pneumothorax recurrence was detected in 13 patients [4 in NA and 9 in CTD group] [P: 0.11]. Mean pain intensity was significantly lower in the NA group at the first hour after the procedure, the first postoperative day and the first week after the intervention [P< 0.001]
Conclusion: Needle aspiration [NA] can be applied as a first step treatment in patients with primary SP, considering its advantages