Persistent air leak treated by autologous blood patch pleurodesis: the role of CT-guided small-bore chest tube insertion

Autologous blood patch pleurodesis (ABPP) offers an alternative to surgery when conservative management is ineffective for treating a persistent air leak (PAL). In the traditional technique, autologous venous blood is introduced into the affected pleural cavity via a blindly inserted large-bore surg...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical imaging 2020-03, Vol.60 (1), p.75-78
Main Authors: Botwin, Ariel L., Niedzwiecki, Gerald A., Botwin, Kenneth P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air leakage
Anesthesia
Autologous blood patch pleurodesis
Blood
Boring
Catheters
Chest
Computed tomography
CT-guided procedure
Insertion
Interventional radiology
Medical instruments
Pain
Patients
Persistent air leak
Pleural cavity
Small-bore chest tube
Suctioning
Surgery
Thoracic surgery
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Autologous blood patch pleurodesis (ABPP) offers an alternative to surgery when conservative management is ineffective for treating a persistent air leak (PAL). In the traditional technique, autologous venous blood is introduced into the affected pleural cavity via a blindly inserted large-bore surgical chest tube. Herein, we present a case of an 18 year old male with a PAL following video assisted thorascopic bleb resection and talc pleurodesis who underwent successful ABPP using a small-bore pigtail catheter placed under computed tomography (CT) guidance. As compared to the traditional technique, this approach may potentially offer several advantages, such as more precise chest tube placement over the air leak site and reduced pain with chest tube insertion. Although image-guided chest tube insertion is a commonly performed procedure, its use for the specific indication in this patient's case has not been described in the literature, to the best of our knowledge. •Persistent air leak (PAL) is a commonly encountered complication following thoracic surgery.•Autologous blood patch pleurodesis (ABPP) may be performed to treat a PAL if conservative management is unsuccessful.•Traditionally, ABPP involves instilling venous blood into the pleural space via a blindly inserted large-bore chest tube.•We report a case in which ABPP was performed using a small-bore catheter placed under Computed Tomography (CT) guidance.•The use of CT-guided small-bore catheter insertion may offer several advantages as compared to the traditional technique.
ISSN:0899-7071
1873-4499
DOI:10.1016/j.clinimag.2019.12.003