2020 Volume 34 Issue 5 Pages 392-397
Tube drainage of a pneumothorax when pleural adhesion is present is associated with the risk of causing pulmonary injury due to adhesion between the chest wall and lung. Choosing the insertion point of a chest tube, therefore, requires careful scrutiny. Even a CT image taken with the patient in the supine position cannot always clarify if adhesion is present in a case of mild or occult pneumothorax, because the lung surface is touching the parietal pleura of the chest wall. Recently, it was reported that percutaneous lung ultrasound tomography via the chest wall can accurately confirm a pleural adhesion area, and it is markedly accurate for diagnosing pneumothorax. In this report, we describe a pilot study of five cases of tube drainage of a pneumothorax with pleural adhesion using lung ultrasound tomography. In all five cases, we were able to detect the pleural adhesion point as well as free air spaces. There were no complications in any of the cases. The study results suggest that lung ultrasound tomography can safely support the decision on where to insert chest tubes.
