Background: Currently, conventional closed thoracic drainage for pneumothorax involves a painful procedure with a higher risk and wider (1~1.5 cm) incision. Minimally invasive catheterized drainage techniques are urgently needed to address this challenge.
Objective: This retrospective study aims to observe the effects of conventional closed thoracic drainage with deep venous catheterization drainage techniques on pneumothorax patients.
Design: It was a retrospective study.
Setting: This study was conducted at Huaian No.1 People's Hospital, Affiliated with Nanjing Medical University.
Participants: A total of 105 pneumothorax patients who underwent conventional closed thoracic drainage (CCTD) or deep venous catheterization drainage technique (DVCDT) procedures at the hospital from 1st February 2020 to 30th October 2022 were selected.
Interventions: Patients received either CCTD or DVCDT.
Primary outcome measures: Included: (1) clinical variables; (2) catheterization procedure-related features; and (3) visual analogue scale (VAS) scores from pneumothorax patients.
Results: Both conventional closed thoracic drainage and deep venous catheterization drainage techniques were successfully performed in all 105 (100%) patients, comprising 67 (63.8%) spontaneous pneumothorax, 20 (19%) iatrogenic pneumothorax, and 18 (17.1%) traumatic pneumothorax cases. Significant differences were observed between the enrolled spontaneous pneumothorax and traumatic pneumothorax patients in the two groups (CCTD and DVCDT) (P = .01 and P < .0001). Additionally, 55 (52.4%) patients underwent deep venous catheterization, while 50 (47.6%) patients underwent conventional closed thoracic drainage. The deep venous catheterization insertion procedure had a shorter mean timing (7.51±1.66 min) compared to the conventional closed thoracic drainage procedure (12.44±1.73 min) (P < .0001). Furthermore, VAS scores were significantly lower in pneumothorax patients undergoing deep venous catheterization (2.1±0.99) compared to conventional closed thoracic drainage (5.1±0.81) (P < .0001).
Conclusion: Deep venous thoracic drainage technique appears to be safer and more beneficial than conventional closed thoracic drainage procedures for treating pneumothorax. This technique offers advantages such as minimal scarring, lower VAS scores, and shorter insertion time, thereby improving safety and surgical outcomes.