"Finger Thoracostomy" is a made up term...

I know I am “stirring the pot” among a respectable number of EMS providers, but, I think that some of the most important goals when we practice any type of healthcare-related-activities, is to keep increasing your knowledge, assume nothing, investigate, and find new ways to improve patient care.

There is some terminology that has been used lightly -in my humble opinion- in several written publications as well as medical podcasts related to Tension Pneumothorax (TPT)1,2,3,4 and the way it is and should be treated by EMS providers -specifically Paramedics, Critical Care Paramedics or HEMS crews- which, I’m convinced, create more confusion, increase the on-scene time, are potentially harmful, inaccurate, and sometimes mislead to a successful outcome, especially in novice providers.

New terminology, and in some cases, variations of existing approaches, is not always needed to explain medicine, physiology or pathophysiology. What we need is to adhere to the facts, apply our knowledge and skills and therefore act consequentially.

I intend to defend my arguments with facts and prove, that we don’t need new terms to explain medicine, physiology or pathophysiology when we are referring to TPT.The “current" state of the art. In several scientific papers, medical reports, case reviews, podcasts and blogs, we are seeing a lot about this procedure called... “Finger Thoracostomy” (FT)1,2,3,4. Call it a “Trend” Well, let’s have a talk, Shall we?