Usage of central venous catheter for delayed traumatic pneumothorax

Pneumothorax, whether spontaneous, iatrogenic or traumatic, frequently requires drainage, especially in the face of positive pressure ventilation or general anesthesia. The traditional approach with large-bore, rigid chest tube is associated with significant pain and various complications. Recently, less invasive modalities such as pigtail catheter or fine-needle aspira-tion have been used in selected patients. We report a case of delay-onset pneumothorax after trauma and the patient was treated successfully with the easily available central venous catheter for drainage. 

thoracic injury, delayed traumatic pneumothorax, central venous catheter, thoracotomy

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