What is the first line of management in tension pneumothorax?
Emergency needle decompressionis carried out on the affected side by placing an 18-gauge needle into the hemithorax at the mid-clavicular line in the 2nd anterior intercostal space. This relieves the tension created within the thorax. It does not treat the pneumothorax; subsequent chest tube inseion is required. Tube thoracostomy (chest tube inseion) and underwater seal drainage are the mainstays of treatment for spontaneous pneumothorax.
CXR
Needle in 2nd intercostal space
Emergency thoracotomy
ICD tube in 5th intercostal space midaxillary line
Pneumothorax