The placement of chest tubes by emergency physicians might diminish the time from diagnosis to treatment in patients with pneumothorax

Background In Denmark the placement of chest tubes is routinely performed by the surgical specialties, namely thoracic, orthopaedic and abdominal surgeons. At our emergency department (ED) we have trained emergency physicians in the placement of chest tubes in patients presenting with a pneumothorax. We postulate that patient discomfort associated with dyspnoea from a pneumothorax can be mitigated by shortening the time from diagnosis to definitive therapy. Our study is retrospective and observational in design, and evaluates the placement of chest tubes by an emergency physician in the ED when compared to a surgeon performing the same procedure in the operating room (OR).