Delayed Chest Radiographs and the Diagnosis of Pneumothorax Following CT-guided Fine Needle Aspiration of Pulmonary Lesions

We prospectively studied 64 consecutive patients on whom computerized tomography-guided fine needle aspirations (CT-FNA) of pulmonary lesions were performed to determine whether obtaining a delayed chest radiography (CXR) after CT-FNA is helpful in the diagnosis of post-procedure pneumothorax (PTX). Two of the 64 patients developed a delayed PTX. Only one of the patients with a delayed PTX required chest tube drainage. If patients have no evidence of a PTX immediately after a CT-FNA by CT scan then a delayed CXR adds little to care of these patients.