Tension Pneumothorax: What Is an Effective Treatment?

Many emergency nurses have memorized the phrase “needle decompression 2ICS MCL” (translation: second intercostal space, mid clavicular line) as the intervention for a tension pneumothorax. However, if you believe in using an evidence-based approach to emergency nursing practice and examine the effectiveness of this intervention, you may be su rprised at the challenges related to site placement and needle length, along with failure rates. For example, consider the following cases that have been reported in the literature.
Source: Journal of Emergency Nursing: JEN - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Trauma Notebook Source Type: research