Clinico-Radiological Profile, Etiological Diagnosis and Treatment Outcome of Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Background: Spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) happens when there is an underlying lung disease such as pulmonary tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, etc., PSP happens when there is no underlying lung disease. Primary SP (PSP) and secondary SP (SSP) are two types of SP. The present study was planned to evaluate the clinico-radiological presentation, etiological diagnosis and to study the response to primary and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax after intervention. Material and Methods: Study was done on 60 patients diagnosed with pneumothorax. Patients were assessed by High resolution computed tomography thorax (HRCT), Chest X-ray, Complete blood counts(CBC), Viral marker and PT-INR. The data gathered was then subjected to statistical evaluation by SPSS version 20.0 software at significance level of p<0.05. Results: 95% cases suffered from dyspnea and chest pain, followed by 83.3% cases having cough and 11.7% showed hemoptysis. 93.3% cases were diagnosed as Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, whereas 6.7% had primary spontaneous pneumothorax. On CT examination, 48.33% showed emphysema, followed by 28.3% showing consolidation, 21.66% with cavitation. 95% cases were managed using Intercostal tube drainage (ICTD) insertion, and 81.7% showed complete lung expansion. Mean time of resolution was observed to be 11.2 days. Conclusion: Compared to SSP, PSP is less prevalent. Smoking postpones its resorption and is a risk factor in and of itself. Primary care doctors and family doctors are essential in identifying, diagnosing, and treating PT since they are the front-line healthcare professionals. Mild and often self-limiting complications such as surgical emphysema can arise from needle aspiration and ICD insertion.

Keywords: Spontaneous pneumothorax; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Lung; Cough; Consolidation.