SJH Emergency Medicine
NHS Lothian has multiple pneumothorax policies. These can be found on the intranet on the Pleural Disease section [intranet link]. The British Thoracic Society guidelines [external site] may also be useful to consult.
Pneumothorax
These guidelines are a work in progress.
NHS Lothian has also created a decision tool on the timing of a pleural procedure[intranet backup link].
Consent should be gained for all patients. The instability and clinical features of a patient should guide how extensive consent taking should be balanced against dealing with their pneumothorax. In an ideal situation, all patient should have a consent form signed. NHS Lothian has created a Chest Drain insertion consent form [backup intranet link].