Outcomes of using pleural vent for managing spontaneous pneumothorax

Abstract

Background The pleural vent is a minimally invasive, small-sized portable device that has been used successfully for management of spontaneous pneumothorax (SP). The use of pleural vent in such cases is still limited compared to the use of routine large chest tube connected to underwater seal. Aim To evaluate the long-term outcome and complications of using a pleural vent for the treatment of cases with SP. Patients and methods This was a 2-year retrospective cohort study that enrolled all patients who had pleural vents inserted either as an initial treatment after admission or after a period of observation. Results This study included 53 patients with SP who were managed by inserting pleural vent as a portable device. All patients completed their 2-year follow-up period. The outcomes comprised a significantly low recurrence rate within 6 months (7.5 vs. 92.5%), after 1 year (3.8 vs. 96.2%), and after 2 years (17.0 vs. 83.0%). Four (7.5%) patients required a change to the chest tube, and a significantly low percentage (5.7%) developed wound infections (P<0.001). The frequency of the use of narcotics (7.5%) analgesia was significantly low. Moreover, patient satisfaction was excellent. Conclusions The use of pleural vents for management of primary and secondary SP is well tolerated and safe and had low incidence of complications. Follow-up for 2 years after the pleural vent use showed low recurrence rates and better patient satisfaction.