thoracentesis
Sign in to saveThoracentesis , also known as thoracocentesis (), pleural tap, needle thoracostomy, or needle decompression (often used term), is an invasive medical procedure to remove fluid or air from the pleural space for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. A cannula, or hollow needle, is carefully introduced into the thorax, generally after administration of local anesthesia. The procedure was first performed by Morrill Wyman in 1850 and then described by Henry Ingersoll Bowditch in 1852.
Key facts
- Medical intervention.Name
- Thoracentesis
- Medical intervention.Image
- Left-sided Pleural Effusion.jpg
- Medical intervention.Caption
- Chest X-ray showing a left-sided pleural effusion (right side of image). This can be treated with thoracentesis.
- Medical intervention.MedlinePlus
- 003420
- Medical intervention.OtherCodes
- OPCS-4.2T12.3
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
2,982 papers- Thoracentesis techniques: A literature review.Medicine · 2024
- Complications of thoracentesis: incidence, risk factors, and strategies for prevention.Current opinion in pulmonary medicine · 2016
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Thoracentesis in Acute Heart Failure.Circulation · 2025
- [Thoracentesis in Primary Care].Semergen · 2019
- POCUS-Assisted Therapeutic Thoracentesis.Advanced emergency nursing journal · 2025
via PubMed
~7 min read
Encyclopedic overview
15 sectionsContents
- Indications
- Contraindications
- Complications
- Follow-up imaging
- Interpretation of pleural fluid analysis
- Transudate versus exudate
- Amylase
- Glucose
- pH
- Triglyceride and cholesterol
- Cell count and differential
- Cultures and stains
- Cytology
- References
- External links
Thoracentesis , also known as thoracocentesis (), pleural tap, needle thoracostomy, or needle decompression (often used term), is an invasive medical procedure to remove fluid or air from the pleural space for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. A cannula, or hollow needle, is carefully introduced into the thorax, generally after administration of local anesthesia. The procedure was first performed by Morrill Wyman in 1850 and then described by Henry Ingersoll Bowditch in 1852.
The recommended location varies depending upon the source. Some sources recommend the midaxillary line, in the eighth, ninth, or tenth intercostal space. Whenever possible, the procedure should be performed under ultrasound guidance, which has shown to reduce complications.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “thoracentesis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.