Optimal strategy for the first episode of primary spontaneous pneumothorax in young men

Background: Recurrence of Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax (PSP) constitutes a serious challenge for both physicians and patients.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 115 patients who had chest tubes at their first onset of PSP. Considering the development of recurrence, two groups were composed and comparatively examined in terms of age, body mass index, smoking status, side and size of initial pneumothorax, presence of bulla and duration of chest tube drainage at the first episode.Results: Among 115 patients with PSP, 24 cases developed recurrence. Male gender was prominently relevant to develop recurrent PSP (p=0.034) whereas remaining inspected parameters revealed no significant relationship with a relapse. Interval between first onset and recurrence of PSP was calculated as 9.2 months. Interestingly, most of the patients developed recurrence in low-temperature months.Conclusions: Recurrence of PSP is substantially unpredictable. Therefore, close follow-up of cases in the following year of their first episode and also informing the patients about probability of a relapse and measures to consider under this circumstance is of great importance.

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Uniportal VATS technique for primary spontaneous pneumothorax: An analysis of 46 cases

Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.12669/pjms.36.2.1556 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Hasan Oğuz Kapicibasi

Keyword(s):

Spontaneous Pneumothorax ◽

Surgical Intervention ◽

Thoracoscopic Surgery ◽

Wedge Resection ◽

Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax ◽

First Episode ◽

Histopathological Diagnosis ◽

Air Leakage ◽

Creative Commons ◽

Duration Of Hospitalization

Objective: In the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP), the influence of safety and applicability of uniportal video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) bullectomy/blebectomy and pleurectomy method were evaluated in 46 patients. Methods: Between November 2010 and January 2019, 46 patients (36 males, 10 females; mean age 24.2 years; range 16-36 years) undergoing uniportal video thoracoscopic bullectomy/blebectomy and apical pleurectomy for primary spontaneous pneumothorax were evaluated retrospectively at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University (COMU). One patient underwent surgery for the second time after three months for contralateral pneumothorax and counted as two different patients, hence forty seven operations were performed in total. The cases were evaluated in terms of age, gender, comorbidity, duration of hospital stay, histopathological diagnosis, postoperative morbidity and mortality. Results: Right surgical intervention was performed in 20 cases (42.6%) and left surgical intervention in 27 cases (57.6%). A total of 15 (31.9%) surgical operations were performed during the first attack, 30 (63.8%) during the second attack and 2 (4.3%) during third and more attacks. There was prolonged air leakage in all patients operated during the first episode. All cases underwent wedge resection and pleurectomy with endoscopic stapes. None of the patients required thoracotomy. Postoperative drainage period was between 2-7 days (mean: 4.1) and the duration of hospitalization was between three to eight days. Postoperative pain and paraesthesia were observed in eight cases. Prolonged air leakage was observed in five cases. Conclusion: With video thoracoscopic uniportal technique, not only lung biopsy and resection but also bullectomy/blebectomy and pleurectomy operations can be performed safely in the treatment of PSP. In view of this information, minimally invasive techniques are seen as more advantageous than conventional techniques. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1556 How to cite this:Kapicibasi HO. Uniportal VATS technique for primary spontaneous pneumothorax: An analysis of 46 cases. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(2):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1556 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Fate of contralateral asymptomatic bullae in patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax

European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery ◽

10.1093/ejcts/ezaa054 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. 365-370

Author(s):

Hyo Jun Jang ◽

Jun Ho Lee ◽

Seung Hyuk Nam ◽

Sun Kyun Ro

Keyword(s):

Spontaneous Pneumothorax ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax ◽

First Episode ◽

High Resolution Computed Tomography ◽

Contralateral Lung ◽

Younger Age ◽

Independent Risk Factors ◽

The Impact

Abstract OBJECTIVES This retrospective cohort study aimed to analyse the impact of asymptomatic blebs/bullae on the occurrence of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) by monitoring the natural course of contralateral blebs/bullae in patients with ipsilateral pneumothorax. METHODS From January 2003 to December 2017, 1055 patients [age 19.6 ± 3.98 years (mean ± standard deviation), 953 men] experiencing the first episode of unilateral PSP were enrolled in this study, excluding patients aged 30 years or more. The presence, number and maximal size of the blebs/bullae were investigated in contralateral asymptomatic lungs based on high-resolution computed tomography. RESULTS Multiple and single blebs/bullae were noted in contralateral lungs in 425 (40.3%) and 88 (8.3%) patients, respectively. The median follow-up period was 44.0 (interquartile range 71.5) months. The 1-, 3- and 5-year cumulative occurrence rates of PSP in contralateral lungs were 7.9%, 13.7% and 16.7%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, younger age [hazard ratio (HR) 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12–1.27; P < 0.001) and multiple bullae (HR 4.42, 95% CI 3.06–6.38; P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for spontaneous pneumothorax in the contralateral lung. The 5-year cumulative occurrence rates of PSP were significantly higher in patients with multiple blebs/bullae than in those with no or a single bleb/bulla (28.2% vs 8.5%, respectively; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Asymptomatic blebs/bullae often lead to PSP. If the patient is eligible for surgery for pneumothorax, preemptive surgery for contralateral bullae could be considered, especially in patients with multiple blebs/bullae.

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