The Pigtail Catheter for Pleural Drainage: A Less Invasive Alternative to Tube Thoracostomy

The Pigtail Catheter for Pleural Drainage: A Less Invasive Alternative to Tube Thoracostomy

BACKGROUND Tube thoracostomy remains the standard of care for the treatment of pneumothoraces and simple effusions. This report describes a favorable experience with the 8.3 French pigtail catheter as a less invasive alternative to traditional chest tube insertion. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 109 consecutive pigtail catheter placements. Catheters were inserted under local anesthesia a...

Pigtail Catheter: A Less Invasive Option for Pleural Drainage in Egyptian Patients with Recurrent Hepatic Hydrothorax

Background and Aims. Treatment of hepatic hydrothorax is a clinical challenge. Chest tube insertion for hepatic hydrothorax is associated with high complication rates. We assessed the use of pigtail catheter as a safe and practical method for treatment of recurrent hepatic hydrothorax as it had not been assessed before in a large series of patients. Methods. This study was conducted on 60 patie...

Pigtail Tube Drainage as a Safe and Effective Alternative to Traditional Chest Tube Thoracostomy in Adults with Spontaneous Pneumothoraces: A Systematic Review

Background: Primary spontaneous pneumothorax occurs in young, healthy populations, usually males, in the absence of lung disease. Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax occurs in older adults who have underlying lung disease such as COPD, emphysema, or a malignant growth. The estimated incidence of spontaneous pneumothorax is 7.4 to 18 per 100,000 for males and 1.2 to 6 per 100,000 in females. Trad...

Cerebral Air Embolism Following Pigtail Catheter Insertion for Pleural Fluid Drainage

Pigtail catheter drainage is a common procedure for the treatment of pleural effusion and pneumothorax. The most common complications of pigtail catheter insertion are pneumothorax, hemorrhage and chest pains. Cerebral air embolism is rare, but often fatal. In this paper, we report a case of cerebral air embolism in association with the insertion of a pigtail catheter for the drainage of a pleu...

Tube thoracostomy drainage. An alternative in the management of giant bullae?