Promising role for pleural vent in pneumothorax following CT-guided biopsy of lung lesions

To evaluate the safety, effectiveness and cost-benefit of ambulatory pleural vent compared to conventional chest drain for pneumothorax following CT-guided biopsy of lung lesions (CTGB).

We retrospectively analysed electronic hospital records of patients requiring intervention for pneumothorax following CTGB. All patients treated with pleural vent over a 2-year period (August 2017-July 2019) were included and compared to a control group of all patients treated with chest drain over a previous 2-year period (August 2014-July 2016).

Patients managed with a pleural vent had a shorter length of hospital stay compared to the chest drain group (median 0 days vs 4.5 days, p < 0.01). The mean cost of follow-up in the pleural vent group was £530.36 per patient compared to a mean of £2699.38 per patient in the chest drain group (p-value < 0.01).

Pleural vent can be a safe and effective alternative to conventional chest drain for the management of CTGB-related pneumothorax which allows patients to be managed on an outpatient basis with reduced hospital stays and lower associated healthcare costs.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of pleural vent for CTGB-related pneumothorax.