Pneumothoraces and chest drains: one year's experience

Abstract

SUMMARY An audit of the management of pneumothoraces in acute medical admissions was conducted over one year to determine what intervention was effected and by whom. The group largely responsible for chest drain insertion was the senior house officers. This same group was found to be relatively inexperienced and largely unaware of the British Thoracic Society guidelines. Despite this, they were found to have a supervisory role for more junior staff. The authors have drawn attention to the difficulties in attaining experience and competence in performing this procedure. They have suggested the use of video training as an adjunct to clinical experience.