Randomized controlled trial on the comparison of chest tube drainage and needle aspiration in the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax

摘要

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.