Analysis on the occurance rate of pneumothorax after percutaneous pneumocentesis

Objective To analyze the influence of multiple variable factors on the occurance rate of pneumothorax associated with transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy of the lung. Methods Fluoroscopically guided lung biopsies were performed in 46 patients. Variable factors were analyzed including lesion size, location, number of puncture, presence of emphysema and patients position after needle biopsy of the lung. Results Pneumothorax occurred at 9 (19.6%) of 46 patients and that occurred at 4 (44.4%) of 9 emphysematous patients. Among them 2 necessitated chest drainage tube placement. The pneumothorax occurance rate was 30% (3/10) for lesions of diameter 3cm or less in size. In the dependent group, pneumothorax occurred in 4 of 20 patients (20%). In the nondependent group, pneumothorax occurred in 5 of 26 patients (19.2%). Conclusion The correlation showed that increasing frequency of pneumothorax with decreasing size of lesions. An increased rate of pneumothorax was correlated with presence of emphysema. Patients with emphysema are more likely to have a symptomatic pneumothorax. No significant differences were found in the incidence of pneumothorax between patients placed with the puncture site dependent after biopsy and those placed with the puncture site nondependent.