Clinical Challenge: Acute Onset of Chest Pain and Dyspnea

The purpose of this Clinical Challenge is to educate nurse practitioners who are employed in the acute care setting on the diagnosis and management of a spontaneous pneumothorax. A spontaneous pneumothorax affects males more than females and tends to impact the adolescent male population. Evidence-based guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians and the British Thoracic Society are reviewed. Treatment modalities for a spontaneous pneumothorax such as needle aspiration, thoracostomy tube placement, video-assisted thoracostomy, and open thoracotomy are discussed.
Source: The Journal for Nurse Practitioners - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Case Challenge Source Type: research