Pneumothorax and Pleural Effusions

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumothorax occurs most often in fit young patients, characteristically tall, thin and male, where it is usually due to rupture of a small subpleural bleb at the apex of the lung. Pneumothorax can also occur as a result of trauma, investigative procedures or underlying disease — staphylococcal pneumonia, asthma, emphysema, tuberculosis and carcinoma or, rarely, in patients with Marfan’s syndrome or in association with menstruation (catamenial pneumothorax). Management is usually straightforward in the young and fit but it can be very difficult in those with other chest problems. A pneumothorax is described as open or closed depending on whether the leak is sealed or not.