Is It Safe to Let Your Patients Fly After a Biopsy-Related Pneumothorax?

Background: There is no standard of care on how to manage patients who need to fly after a biopsy-related pneumothorax. Image-guided, percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB) is clearly associated with a risk of pneumothorax. Flying inherently exposes the body to physiologic changes that could potentially lead to worsening of a pneumothorax due to reductions in barometric pressure, which result in expansion of trapped gases. Objective: To determine if commercial flights place patients who have had a recent biopsy-related pneumothorax at risk for adverse medical events. Design/Participants: Prospective observational study of 179 patients who underwent 183 PTNBs over a period of approximately 2 years. Methods: These patients took a flight within 2 weeks of the procedure and were included from a study pool of 716 patients. Seven to 10 days after the flight, a telephone survey was taken. Results: The pneumothorax rate was 36% (65 of 183). Chest tube placement was required in 15 pa more...