Pneumothorax: etiology, complications and outcome

ABSTRACT

A prospective study was performed in the Chest Unit of Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar to observe the presentation, aetiology, complications and management of pneumothorax. Sixty patients presented with pneumothorax over a period of 2 years and 6 months [MF=2.51]. The pneumothorax was due to pulmonary tuberculosis [PTB] in 32 cases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] in 14 cases, interstitial lung disease [ILD] in two cases, Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia with abscesses in one case, iatrogenic pneumothorax in one case, blunt trauma to chest in one case while 9 cases had primary spontaneous pneumothorax [PSP]. In most cases the intercostal tube was removed in the first two weeks after the lungs were fully expanded. Eleven patients were referred to thoracic surgeons for pleurectomies while another two died. This study suggests that PTB and COPD are more common causes of pneumothorax than PSP in our country, contrary to western literature