Pneumothorax Case Study

S. No Mode of recovery No. of cases

1 Total lung expansion 19

2 Lung expansion with pleural thickening/fibrosis 20

3 Chronic pneumothorax referred to thoracic surgery 6

4 Absconded 5

5 Expired 0

Discussion:

Pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space that causes an uncoupling of the lung from the chest wall; pneumothorax interferes with normal breathing. Symptoms typically include chest pain and breathing difficulty leading to a collapsed lung. A primary pneumothorax is one that occurs without an apparent cause and in the absence of significant lung disease, while a secondary pneumothorax occurs in the presence of existing lung disease. A pneumothorax can be caused by physical trauma to the chest wall or as a complication of a healthcare intervention which is referred to as traumatic pneumothorax. In a minority of cases the amount of air in the chest increases markedly when a one-way valve is formed by an area of damaged tissue, leading to a tension pneumothorax which leads to steadily worsening oxygen shortage and low blood pressure. Unless reversed by effective treatment, it can result in death. Diagnosis of a pneumothorax by physical examination alone can be difficult. Integrated diagnostic modalities can be used for the better detection such as chest X-ray,

Dyspnea, chest pain and cough with or without sputum were the presenting symptoms in all cases. Depending upon the etiology of spontaneous pneumothorax, the cases were divided into six distinct groups. BPF was present in 24 cases of which 21 were of tuberculous etiology. Six cases were diagnosed on clinico– radiological, histopathological examination of pleural biopsy and pleural fluid analysis. 8 (16%) of the cases had pneumothorax due to the rupture of healed tuberculous scar. Thus pneumothorax of tuberculous etiology was present in 32 (64%) of the 50