Active clinical trials for "Hemopneumothorax"

Traumatic hemothorax and hemopneumothorax are common diagnoses which are typically treated by placement of a chest tube. 28-32 Fr chest tubes have previously been shown equivalent to 36-40 Fr chest tubes for the non-emergent drainage of hemothorax. A smaller study has found 14 Fr pigtails had less pain than larger tubes but was not powered to compare outcomes. We seek to perform a prospective randomized trial that is adequately powered comparing efficacy of 14 Fr thal tubes to 28 Fr chest tubes for non-emergent drainage of hemothorax and hemopneumothorax. Additionally, we will employ maximal barrier precautions for all chest tube insertions and compare empyema rates to our historical controls.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the use of negative pleural suction in tube thoracostomy is more effective than water seal alone for the treatment of pneumothorax and/or hemothorax in patients with chest trauma.

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotics in patients with chest tubes for management of thoracic injuries in the reduction of the incidence of empyema as compared to placebo.

After sustaining severe trauma to the chest, patients will often bleed into the chest cavity pleural space) which is called hemothorax or they may also experience air leakage within the chest cavity in combination with the bleeding (hemopneumothorax). The treatment for these conditions include the insertion of a tube into the chest called a chest tube). Insertion of the chest tube is commonly very painful for the patient due to the size or diameter of the tube. Alternatively, procedure it is standard practice in the acute care setting at Banner-University of Arizona Tucson Campus (B-UATC) to insert a pigtail catheter, which has a smaller diameter, into the chest wall to treat the hemothorax or hemopnuemothorax. The primary purpose of this study is to see if the use of the pigtail catheter is just as effective as chest tube insertion in terms of removing leaked blood and/or air from the chest cavity. An additional objective of this study is to evaluate which procedure is less painful for the patient.