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Case Reports
. 2024 Jan;30(1):194-197.
doi: 10.1177/1357633X211034316. Epub 2021 Jul 26.

Telemedicine-guided thoracentesis of tension pneumothorax in a term newborn

Ayman Abou Mehrem  1   2 , Ashley Blagdon  1 , Jaco Hoffman  3 , Salma Dossani  4 , Christine Anderson  4 , Tanya Spence  5   6 , Eli Gilad  1   5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Telemedicine-guided thoracentesis of tension pneumothorax in a term newborn

Ayman Abou Mehrem et al. J Telemed Telecare. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

We describe a case of a term female infant born in a rural community hospital and who developed a left-sided spontaneous tension pneumothorax shortly after birth. We used telemedicine to guide the family physician and healthcare team at the referring hospital to perform a life-saving thoracentesis using an intravenous cannula. The cannula was kept in place to drain the persistent pneumothorax during transportation to the pediatric intensive care unit at the tertiary hospital.

Keywords: Telemedicine; neonate; pneumothorax; remote consultation; teleconsulting; telehealth; thoracentesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
First chest X-ray showing left tension pneumothorax.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Chest X-ray with the cannula in the left third intercostal space.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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