Interventional radiology of the thorax encompasses an expanding variety of procedures, ranging from simple diagnostic pleural fluid aspiration to complex therapeutic procedures such as bronchial artery embolization and radiofrequency ablation of lung tumours. Physicians of many specialties will encounter patients undergoing such procedures and knowledge of possible complications is therefore desirable. We aim to briefly outline the role of the most commonly undertaken radiological thoracic interventions and review the associated complications, their subsequent management and the steps that can be taken to minimize the risk of these complications occurring.

Applying current NICE guidelines for chest pain of recent onset to medical admissions results in a lesser uptake of CCT than functional testing and invasive angiography. If the NICE guidelines are revised to include patients with an intermediate pre-test probability of CAD, CCT may have a greater role.