Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

International Expert Consensus and Recommendations for Neonatal Pneumothorax Ultrasound Diagnosis and Ultrasound-guided Thoracentesis Procedure
Published on: March 12, 2020
Safety of large-volume thoracentesis
Jafar Abunasser1, Robert Brown
1Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Vincent's Medical Center, Bridgeport, USA.
Objective:
To assess the risks associated with removal of more than 1 liter of pleural fluid in one settingwithout intrapleural pressure monitoring.
Design:
Single-center retrospective chart review.
Setting:
Medium-sized community-based teaching hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Methods:
We reviewed thoracenteses performed between February 2004 and March 2006, and documentedtherates of hypotension, pneumothorax, bleeding, andre-expansion pulmonaryedema.
Results:
A total of 300 thoracenteses performed on 237 patients were analyzed, of which 137 were large volume (>1 liter) and 163 were small volume (<1 liter). There was no statistically significant increase in risk of pneumothorax, hypotension, or bleeding with large-volume thoracentesis. One case of radiographically-identified re-expansion pulmonary edema occurred when 2600 mL of fluid were removed.
Conclusion:
Large-volume thoracentesis is a safe procedure that is comparable in risk to small volume thoracentesis.
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