Abstract
Purpose: To retrospectively register the number and type of complications following ultrasound‐guided thoracocentesis, and to evaluate the need for routine chest X‐ray after the procedure.
Material and Methods: Complications were retrospectively registered from the radiological and clinical reports of 371 consecutive patients who had undergone thoracocentesis with a total of 711 procedures.
Results: The mean volume evacuated was 823 ml (range 0–3600 ml). Twenty (2.8%) pneumothoraces were found after 711 thoracocenteses, but in no case was chest tube drainage necessary. Hemoptysis occurred in one patient.
Conclusion: Ultrasound‐guided thoracocentesis was found to be a safe procedure. Based on these results, no reason was found to introduce an upper limit of the amount of fluid drained in one session. Routine follow‐up chest X‐ray is not justified in the absence of clinical symptoms.