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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

International Expert Consensus and Recommendations for Neonatal Pneumothorax Ultrasound Diagnosis and Ultrasound-guided Thoracentesis Procedure
Published on: March 12, 2020
Detection of occult pneumothoraces on abdominal computed tomographic scans in trauma patients
1Department of Surgery, York Hospital, Pennsylvania, USA. research@yorkhospital.edu
Background:
An unrecognized, or occult, injury is particularly dangerous in trauma patients, who often have multiple life-threatening injuries. We sought to determine the frequency and quantify the utility of the abdominal computed tomographic (CT) scan in detecting occult pneumothoraces.
Methods:
Charts of all trauma patients diagnosed with a pneumothorax over a 7-year period were retrospectively reviewed for findings on admission chest radiograph, abdominal CT scan, and other demographic data.
Results:
A total of 312 charts were reviewed, with 230 patients identified as having a pneumothorax at admission. Of the 230 patients, 126 (54.8%) had an occult pneumothorax identified on abdominal CT scan. In these patients, the mean Trauma Score was 14.1 +/- 2.9 and the mean Injury Severity Score was 24.1 +/- 11.2. In the group of occult pneumothoraces, 84 (66.7%) underwent chest tube placement.
Conclusions:
Abdominal CT scanning provided important information about thoracic trauma often missed on initial evaluation in the trauma bay. This information frequently affected the patient's clinical management.
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