Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34173055›Full record

ArticlePediatric surgery international2021

Routine chest X-rays after pigtail chest tube removal rarely change management in children.

Christina M Theodorou, Mennatalla S Hegazi, Hope Nicole Moore, Alana L Beres

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric surgery international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 49% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Christina M TheodorouDepartment of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Room 5107, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA. ctheodorou@ucdavis.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0365-3053
Mennatalla S HegaziDepartment of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Hope Nicole MooreDepartment of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Alana L BeresDepartment of Pediatric General, Thoracic, and Fetal Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA, USA.
University of California Davis Medical Center · US

Funding

UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science CenterUL1TR001860 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI KENYON, NICHOLAS J., LYLES, COURTNEY REES · 2016 to 2025
$47.3M
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001860NIH HHS UL1 TR001860
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe need for chest X-rays (CXR) following large-bore chest tube removal has been questioned; however, the utility of CXRs following removal of small-bore pigtail chest tubes is unknown. We hypothesized that CXRs obtained following removal of pigtail chest tubes would not change management.

methodsPatients < 18 years old with pigtail chest tubes placed 2014-2019 at a tertiary children's hospital were reviewed. Exclusion criteria were age < 1 month, death or transfer with a chest tube in place, or pigtail chest tube replacement by large-bore chest tube. The primary outcome was chest tube reinsertion.

results111 patients underwent 123 pigtail chest tube insertions; 12 patients had bilateral chest tubes. The median age was 5.8 years old. Indications were pneumothorax (n = 53), pleural effusion (n = 54), chylothorax (n = 6), empyema (n = 5), and hemothorax (n = 3). Post-pull CXRs were obtained in 121/123 cases (98.4%). The two children without post-pull CXRs did not require chest tube reinsertion. Two patients required chest tube reinsertion (1.6%), both for re-accumulation of their chylothorax.

conclusionsPost-pull chest X-rays are done nearly universally following pigtail chest tube removal but rarely change management. Providers should obtain post-pull imaging based on symptoms and underlying diagnosis, with higher suspicion for recurrence in children with chylothorax.

Indexed as

Chest TubesPneumothoraxChange ManagementChildChild, PreschoolHumansRetrospective StudiesThoracostomyX-RaysChest tubePediatric surgeryPigtail thoracostomyX-ray

Identifiers

PMID34173055
PMCPMC8408085
OpenAlexW3177117878

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.