Comparison of the Therapeutic Effects of a Pigtail Catheter and Chest Tube in the Treatment of Spontaneous Pneumothorax: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the therapeutic effects of a pigtail catheter with a chest tube in the management of patients with spontaneous pneumothorax (SP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A randomized controlled trial study was performed on patients with SP from August 2016 to December 2017 at Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. Forty-four patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups: group A with a 14-Fr pigtail catheter and group B using a 28-Fr chest tube. Two patients were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Forty-two patients participated in the study with 21 patients in each group. There were no significant differences between the groups in the patients' baseline data. The success rate was higher in patients with pigtail catheters (85.7%) than in patients with chest tubes (76.2%). However, the difference was not significant (P = .43). The procedure time was significantly shorter in the pigtail group compared to the chest tube group (P < .01). According to the visual analog scale (VAS), patients with pigtail catheters experienced milder pain during tube insertion than patients with chest tubes (P= .02). However, the pain score at the insertion site was not significantly different between the 2 groups for the first 2 days after the procedure. Patients with pigtail catheters experienced significantly less pain than patients with chest tubes during removal of the tube (P < .01). Also, there was no significant difference between the pain experienced by the 2 groups at the time of hospital discharge (P = .19). Analgesic drug usage was lower in patients with pigtail catheters compared to patients with chest tubes (P < .01). There was a trend toward lower median hospital stays demonstrated by patients with pigtail catheters compared to patients with chest tubes (P = .2). CONCLUSION: Pigtail catheters might be as effective as chest tubes for treating patients with SP in terms of lung re-expansion.