If your health care provider suspects pneumothorax or if you have been injured in the chest, diagnosis and treatment are usually done in a hospital. Your provider will order a chest x-ray. An ECG is a painless procedure for recording the electrical impulses that pass through the heart to control its activity. Your provider may take a blood sample from one of your arteries to measure the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood. This is called an arterial blood gas test.
Treatment depends on the cause, size, and duration of the pneumothorax.
The injury may heal by itself, but hospitalization and treatment may be necessary to get rid of the excess air. Immediate treatment is to remove the air so the lung can reexpand to its original capacity. The air is removed through a suction tube inserted through the wall of the chest or, if the pneumothorax is small, through a needle and syringe. Reexpansion usually occurs in 48 to 72 hours. Your health care provider will measure your breathing by monitoring the up and down movements of your chest.