Follow Up

Patients discharged from the ED following a spontaneous pneumothorax should ideally be reviewed by a respiratory physician after 2 weeks. In practice, it may be impossible to access specialist clinics in the recommended timeframe. If this is the case, then the patient should be advised to initially return to the ED, at 2 weeks, for a repeat chest radiograph and senior doctor review pending specialist review.

If the pneumothorax is recurrent, or the patient has a high risk vocation, referral for a cardiothoracic outpatient appointment is appropriate.