Thoracentesis

The test is done in the following way: You sit on a bed or on the edge of a chair or bed. Your head and arms rest on a table. The skin around the procedure site is cleaned. A local numbing medicine (anesthetic) is injected into the skin. A needle is placed through the skin and muscles of the chest wall into the space…

No special preparation is needed before the test. A chest x-ray or ultrasound will be done before and after the test.

You will feel a stinging sensation when the local anesthetic is injected. You may feel pain or pressure when the needle is inserted into the pleural space. Tell your provider if you feel short of breath or have chest pain , during or after the procedure.

Normally, very little fluid is in the pleural space. A buildup of too much fluid between the layers of the pleura is called a pleural effusion . The test is performed to determine the cause of the extra fluid and to relieve symptoms from the fluid buildup.

Normally the pleural cavity contains only a very small amount of fluid.

Testing the fluid will help your provider determine the cause of pleural effusion. Possible causes include: Metastatic cancer Liver failure Heart failure Low protein levels Kidney disease Trauma or post-surgery Asbestos-related pleural effusion Collagen vascular disease (class of diseases in which the body's immune…

Risks may include any of the following: Bleeding Infection Collapsed lung ( pneumothorax ) Respiratory distress

A chest x-ray or ultrasound is commonly done after the procedure to detect possible complications.

Blok BK. Thoracentesis. In: Roberts JR, Custalow CB, Thomsen TW, eds. Roberts and Hedges' Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine and Acute Care . 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 9. Ruhl TS, Good JL. Thoracentesis. In: Fowler GC, Choby BA, Iyengar D, et al, eds. Pfenninger and Fowler's Procedures for…