Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep;15(9):967-972.
doi: 10.1111/crj.13400. Epub 2021 May 31.

Spontaneous pneumothorax-When do we need to intervene?

Moshe Ashkenazi  1   2 , Alon Bak  1 , Ifat Sarouk  1   2 , Bat El Bar Aluma  1   2 , Adi Dagan  1   2 , Yael Bezalel  1   2 , Daphna Vilozni  1   2 , Ori Efrati  1   2
Affiliations

Spontaneous pneumothorax-When do we need to intervene?

Moshe Ashkenazi et al. Clin Respir J. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Pneumothorax can be classified as traumatic, iatrogenic or spontaneous (SP), which can be subdivided into primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP), a condition without preexisting lung disease, or secondary spontaneous pneumothorax (SSP) a complication of a preexisting lung disease. Recurrence rate of PSP is 30% whereas for SSP rate is unknown. This article explores the experience of a tertiary center over 20 years.

Methods: A retrospective case review of patients hospitalized with pneumothorax to investigate the natural history and treatment of SP in a young population in a single tertiary center was conducted. A search of the digital archive (going back to 01/01/1995) of Sheba Medical Center identified hospitalized patients below the age of 40.

Results: The database was composed of the records of 750 patients (612 males, 138 females) who were hospitalized. The recurrence risk for SP after nonoperative treatment was significantly higher. Women were found to have an increased risk of SSP when having SP (OR 2.78). Asthma was the most prevalent disease causing SSP in young people.

Conclusions: In this large cohort, we found that operative procedure has clear protective effect from recurrence in SP, so surgery should be positively considered when treating SP in hospitalized patients. Among young people and particularly in pediatric patients, when females have a SP, we strongly recommend looking for primary lung disease. More studies are needed to determine the risk factors and produce clear guidelines regarding surgery as first treatment.

Keywords: asthma; recurrence; spontaneous pneumothorax; surgical intervention.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Sahn SA, Heffner JE. Spontaneous pneumothorax. N Engl J Med. 2000;342:868-874.
    1. Bintcliffe OJ, Hallifax RJ, Edey A, et al. Spontaneous pneumothorax: time to rethink management? Lancet Respir Med. 2015 Jul;3:578-588.
    1. Melton LJ III, Hepper NGG, Offord KP. Incidence of spontaneous pneumothorax in Olmsted County, Minnesota: 1950 to 1974. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1979;120:1379-1382.
    1. MacDuff A, Arnold A, Harvey J, BTS Pleural Disease Guideline Group. Management of spontaneous pneumothorax: British Thoracic Society pleural disease guideline 2010. Thorax. 2010;65(Suppl 2):ii18-ii31.
    1. Baumann MH, Strange C. Treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax. Chest. 1997;112:789-804.

LinkOut - more resources