Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

International Expert Consensus and Recommendations for Neonatal Pneumothorax Ultrasound Diagnosis and Ultrasound-guided Thoracentesis Procedure
Published on: March 12, 2020
Safety of ultrasound-guided thoracentesis in patients receiving mechanical ventilation
Paul H Mayo1, Hayden R Goltz, Mehran Tafreshi
1Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY 10003, USA. pmayo@bethisraelny.org
Objective:
To determine the safety of ultrasound-guided thoracentesis (UST) performed by critical care physicians on patients receiving mechanical ventilation.
Design:
Prospective and observational.
Setting:
ICUs in a teaching hospital.
Patients:
Two hundred eleven serial patients receiving mechanical ventilation with pleural effusion requiring diagnostic or therapeutic thoracentesis.
Interventions:
Two hundred thirty-two separate USTs were performed by critical care physicians without radiology support. Anteroposterior chest radiographs were reviewed for possible postprocedure pneumothorax.
Results:
Pneumothorax occurred in 3 of 232 USTs (1.3%). The procedure was well tolerated in this critically ill population.
Conclusions:
UST performed in patients receiving mechanical ventilation without radiology support results in an acceptable rate of pneumothorax.
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