Comparative effectiveness of suction versus water seal following tube thoracostomy in traumatic pneumothorax and hemothorax: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
Shaban A et al., 2026 · 5 studies included
Summary
Five RCTs, 404 traumatic pneumothorax/hemothorax patients; all trials had high risk of bias.
Conclusion
Suction shortened tube duration by a pooled 2.95 days (95% CI 1.31–4.58 shorter), with uncertain applicability and susceptibility to management/discharge bias. Do not extrapolate to spontaneous pneumothorax or all ventilated ICU leaks. Later SEAL IT findings differ; neither strategy is universally superior.