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Objectives: To determine the length of catheter required to perform a needle thoracostomy, as determined by chest wall thickness, to treat the majority of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with a potential tension pneumothorax. Methods: A convenience sample of 111 computed tomography (CT) scans of the chest in trauma and medical resuscitation patients at a military Level 1 trauma center in San Antonio, Texas, was pooled, and the chest wall thickness was measured at the second intercostal space, midclavicular line, to the nearest 0.1 cm. Results: The mean chest wall thickness in the patients studied averaged 4.24 cm (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.97 to 4.52). Nearly one fourth (25) of the study patients had a chest wall thicker than 5 cm. Women, on average, have thicker chest walls than men (4.90 for women; 4.16 for men; p = 0.022). Conclusions: In this study, a catheter length of 5 cm would reliably penetrate the pleural space of only 75% of patients. A longer catheter should be considered, especially in women.

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In this study, a catheter length of 5 cm would reliably penetrate the pleural space of only 75% of patients. A longer catheter should be considered, especially in women.

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Bupropion, an atypical antidepressant commonly used for depression and smoking cessation, is well known to cause seizures in both therapeutic use and overdose, but cardiac effects have been reported as minimal, usually sinus tachycardia. We describe an ingestion of bupropion estimated to be greater than 2 g by a 3-year-old boy that resulted in seizures. The child was decontaminated with whole bowel irrigation (WBI), and he experienced aspiration of polyethylene glycol and electrolyte solution used for the WBI. The patient ultimately developed hypotension and bradycardia requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation due to the effects of the bupropion combined with the complications of WBI. In contrast to previous literature, which showed few clinical effects aside from seizures from ingestion of bupropion by children, our case highlights the dangers of pediatric bupropion ingestion and highlights risks of WBI.