Fig 1.
Flow diagram showing selection of studies for review.
Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
Table 2.
Risk of bias assessment.
Fig 2.
Meta-analysis of the early success rate associated with the aspiration versus intercostal tube drainage.
The risk ratio for early success rate was used for effect size measure. The Mantel-Haenzel method and a random-effects model were used for calculating the pooled estimate.
Fig 3.
Subgroup analysis of the studies that compared aspiration and intercostal tube drainage.
The subgroupings were assigned according to the subtype of pneumothorax included in each study; i.e., first episode of primary spontaneous pneumothorax versus other types.
Fig 4.
Meta-analysis of the recurrence rate within 1 year associated with aspiration versus intercostal tube drainage.
Fig 5.
Meta-analysis of the hospitalization rate associated with aspiration versus intercostal tube drainage.
Fig 6.
Meta-analysis of the hospital stay associated with aspiration versus intercostal tube drainage.
Table 3.
Complications in the intervention and control arms of each study.