• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2008

Purpose: Multiple rib fracture (MRF) and a hemopneumothorax accompany with most blunt chest traumas. We aimed to analyze the factors increasing the probability of a hemopneumothorax. In addition, other injuries accompanying MRF were analyzed. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 154 mutiple rib fracture patients who visited our hospital between January 2005 and December 2007. The medical records were reviewed for sex, age, mechanism of injury, location, number of fractures, distance of dislocated rib fragments, and presence of complications. We measured the distance of bony dislocations by using the PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System). Results: The average number of rib fractures was $3.7{\pm}2.1$, and the number of rib fractures significantly influenced the incidence of a hemothorax (p<0.001). The risk of a hemothorax was increased in a bilateral MRF compared to a unilateral MRF (p=0.027). The distance of dislocated rib fragments influenced the probability of a hemothorax significantly (p=0.018), and subcutaneous emphysema and lung contusion were significantly associated with a pneumothorax (p=0.021, p=0.036). Conclusion: The number of MRFs did not influence the risk for a pneumothorax, but did influence the risk for a hemothorax. The laterality, distance of dislocation, also had an influence on the risk for a hemothorax. Also, subcutaneous emphysema and lung contusion were increased in cases with a pneumothorax. We must consider the possibility of a hemothorax even when the initial chest X-ray shows no evidence of a hemothorax. If a lung contusion is present, then an occult pneumothorax must be considered.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2021

Background: We aimed to investigate the characteristics of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) in adolescents and to analyze the relationship between the occurrence of PSP and air pollutants. Methods: Data pertaining to age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, initial pneumothorax volume, presence of bullae, treatment methods, and city of residence were retrospectively obtained from January 2010 to December 2014. We investigated the association between short-term exposure to air pollutants (SO2, NO2, O3, CO, and PM10) and the occurrence of PSP using a case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression. Results: We collected information from 598 patients who were admitted for PSP, with a mean follow-up duration of 62.9 months. The majority (91.1%) of the patients were male. In the case-crossover design, conditional logistic regression showed that no air pollutant was associated with the occurrence of pneumothorax. The results were consistent across all city subgroups (Anyang, Gunpo, Uiwang, and Gwacheon). Conclusion: In our study, the incidence rate of pneumothorax was 153.8 per 100,000 person-years in male adolescents and 16.7 per 100,000 person-years in female adolescents. The case-crossover design showed that PSP in adolescents is unlikely to be related to air pollution.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.61-65
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• 2021

Although re-expansion pulmonary edema (RPE) is rare (incidence rate <1%), it is associated with a mortality rate of >20%; therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are important. We report a case of RPE following chest tube insertion in a patient with spontaneous pneumothorax. We have specifically focused on the mechanism underlying RPE and the possible etiology. An 82-year-old man with a history of chronic anemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension was referred to the emergency department for management of recurrent right-sided pneumothorax. We performed emergency closed thoracostomy for suspected tension pneumothorax, which led to stabilization of the patient's vital signs; however, he coughed up frothy pink sputum accompanied by severe right-sided chest pain 30 min postoperatively. The patient showed new-onset right pulmonary consolidation on chest radiography, as well as desaturation, tachycardia, and tachypnea and was diagnosed with RPE. He was transferred to the intensive care unit for mechanical ventilation and supportive treatment using diuretics, ionotropic agents, and prophylactic antibiotics. RPE gradually resolved, and the patient was extubated 3 days after admission. He has not experienced recurrent pneumothorax or pulmonary disease for 4 months. We emphasize the importance of RPE prevention and that aggressive ventilator care and supportive treatment can effectively treat RPE following an accurate understanding of the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms and risk factors.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.628-637
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• 2004

Background : Percutaneous needle aspiration biopsy(PNAB) of the lung is a safe procedure for diagnosis of various pulmonary diseases but complications such as pneumothorax can occasionally develop. We reviewed the complications arising after PNAB and analysed the risk factors of pneumothorax. Method : We collected data by reviewing medical records and radiographic studies of 403 patients who underwent PNAB of the lung between 1988 and 2002 and analyzed the risk factors of pneumothorax. Result : The incidence of complication was 12.9%, 48 patients with pneumothorax and 4 patients with mild hemoptysis. Among the 48 pneumothorax patients, 35 patients showed mild(<20%) and was treated by only oxygen supply, 11 patients had severe pneumothorax(>50%) and chest tube insertion was done and 2 patients were treated by needle aspiration. As the results of multivariate analysis, size and location of lesion, location of approach, diagnosis of lesion showed no significant relationship, while age and gender of patients(p<0.05) and the depth of approach(p<0.001) were significantly related to pneumothorax. Smoking amount(p<0.001) as well as the smoking history(p<0.005) were also significantly related and the examiner displaying various incidence of pneumothorax from 4.0% to 23.1% among individuals also was a significant independent risk factor(p<0.05). While the average depth of approach for 13 patients treated by chest tube insertion or needle aspiration was $8.2{\pm}1.2cm$, 35 patiens treated only by oxygen supply was $6.7{\pm}1.6cm$ suggesting that the depth of approach was lead to a severe pneumothorax. Conclusion : The independent risk factors of pneumothorax, the most common complication after PNAB, are age and gender of patients, depth of approach, examiner of procedure, smoking history and smoking amount.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.497-501
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• 2009

Background: Prolonged air leakage and pleural fluid drainage from a chest tube may delay removing the chest tube after a patient undergoes video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge resection and the patient is otherwise ready for discharge. We reviewed 37 outpatients patients who were being managed with a postoperative chest tube (a Panda Pneumothorax set with a Heimlich valve). Material and Method: From January 2005 to December 2007, 294 patients underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge resections & pleurodesis. Of them, 37 patients met the criteria for outpatient chest drainage management with using a Panda Pneumothorax set with a Heimlich valve. The patients received written instructions, and they demonstrated competence with using the Panda system. The patients returned for chest tube removal after satisfactory resolution of their air leak and pleural fluid drainage. Result: The patients discharged with a Panda pneumothorax set had a longer duration of hospital stay (mean: 10.3$\pm$1.7 days, range: 11 to 17 days) as compared with the patients without a Panda pneumothorax set (mean: 6.2$\pm$1.5 days, range: 4 to 7 days). The chest tube was removed successfully from the patients with a Panda pneumothorax set at an average of 9.8$\pm$1.6 days (range: 9$\sim$18 days) after discharge. There were no major complications. Four patients experienced minor complications. Thirty six patients (97.3%) experienced uneventful and successful outpatient chest tube management. Conclusion: Successful postoperative outpatient chest tube management with using the Panda set was accomplished in 36 selected patients. This program resulted in a substantially reduced hospital cost and enhanced patient satisfaction by allowing earlier discharge.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.747-752
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• 1996

Video-assisted thoracic surgery(VATS) has been widely used in the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax in spite of the absence of definitive data regarding the relative safety and long term results of this procedure. We reviewed 34 patients (group I) who underwent )8 video-assisted surgical procedures for spontaneous pneumothorax from June 1994 to December 1995 and compared the results of these patients with the results of another 14 patients (group ll) who underwent bullectomy through axillary Oho- racotomy during the same period. Average age, sex distribution, site and extent of pneumothorax, surgical indications, and complication rate showed no differences between the two groups. In group ll patients, th number and sites of bullae tend to be multiple compared to patients in group 1. The mean number of ends-GIA used for stapling of bullae was 2. 6 per patient with the range from 2 to 4 in group 1. The mean duration of chest tube drainage was not different between the two groups ().7 days and 3.9 days), but the mean time to discharge was significantly shorter in group I (5.6 days) than in group ll (8.9 days). Mean follow-up time was 12 and 11 months in each groups and ranged from 2 to 21 months. Pneumothorax recurred after three of 38 procedures in group I (7.9 %) with no recurrence in group ll. These data suggest that video-assisted thoracic surgery is a viable alternative to thoracotomy for the treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax with low morbidity and shorter hospital stay. However, it should be applied cautiously to patients with spontaneous pneumothorax because of the relatively high incidence of recurrence compared to axillary thoracotomy.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.166-171
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• 2008

Purpose : This study was performed to determine the rate of neonatal symptomatic spontaneous pneumothorax, and the corresponding clinical characteristics, co-morbidities, and outcomes. Methods : The demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms and signs, associated abnormalities, methods of treatment, and outcomes were investigated in 22 neonates with symptomatic spontaneous pneumothorax in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Chonnam University Hospital between March 2003 and February 2008. Results : The rate of spontaneous pneumothorax was 0.55%. Among the 22 neonates, the number of outborns was 15 (68.2%) and the number of males was 12 (54.5%). The main symptoms and signs were chest retraction, tachypnea, and cyanosis. The pneumothoraces were more frequent on the right side (59.1%) and all cases were diagnosed within 3 days of life. Four cases (18.2%) had urologic abnormalities and 7 cases (31.8%) had cranial abnormalities by ultrasonography. The treatments included oxygen (81.8%) and oxygen with chest tube drainage (18.2%). All of the infants survived and the overall outcomes were favorable. Conclusion : When respiratory symptoms and signs are develop abruptly in otherwise healthy newborns, the clinician should suspect a spontaneous pneumothorax and check a chest x-ray as soon as possible. Although the outcome of neonatal symptomatic spontaneous pneumothorax is favorable, renal and cranial ultrasonography are needed because of the higher possibility of urologic abnormalities and germinal matrix/intraventricular hemorrhage than in newborns without a pneumothorax.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 1975

The thoracoscopic study was reported on 21 cases of spontaneous pneumothorax requiring surgical management, and clinical values of thoracoscopic examination on spontaneous pneumothorax were also discussed. patients were treated in the Department of .Thoracic Surgery, Hanyang University Hospital for the period of two Years from May 1972 to April 1974. For exact detection of etiologic factors on spontaneous pneumothorax, the thoracoscopic examination in the intrapleural space was performed in parallel with X-ray study. this study, the difference of diagnostic and therapeutic significance between radiological and thoracoscopic findings were observed and compared simultaneously. The results are summerized as follows: Patients age was distributed between 3 and 70 years old with highest incidence in the age group of sixty decade [33. 3%], and sex ratio of male to female was 5:2. The tuberculous processes which developed superficial subpleural layer in the lung parenchyme, on the pulmonary surface could be observed by thoracoscopic examination in a characteristic picture. detection ratio of pulmonary tuberculosis by the radiologic study to that by thoracoscopy was 8:2. The adhesion between the visceral and the parietal pleura which could possibly make a rupture of the alveola and the visceral pleura was found to be localized in a small area of the lung surface. The other part of the lung surface was free of the adhesion and, therefore, the movement of the lung took place completely without any difficulty. The ruptured orifice of the pleura and pathological changes surrounding the orifice can be detected by thoracoscopy, but not by other means such as radiologic examination. A single tuberculous bleb and multiple emphysematous blebs were found on 6 cases out of 21 cases of spontaneous pneumothorax. Among these cases, radiologic Study revealed the bleb only in one patient. On the other hand, the blebs were found in all the six patients by means of thoracoscopic examination. It gives the detection ratio of bleb by radiologic study to that by thoracoscopy was 1:6. By thoracoscopy, the rupture on the lung surface were visualized on the 10 patients out of a total of 21 patients [10 patients of visual rupture]. However, the rupture of the pleura was not observed on the rest of 11 patients even by thoracoscopic examination [11 patients of non visual rupture]. Five patients [50%] out of ten who had the visual rupture on the lung surface was required a surgical operation to remove pneumothorax. For the patients who were detected to have the visual rupture of the pleura by thoracoscopy, be considered in the early stage of closed thoracostomy. of 21 patients, 16 patients [11 patients of non visual rupture of the pleura and 5 patients of visual rupture of the pleura] who received no surgical management, were treated with closed thoracostomy with continuous suction, and the` pneumothorax was healed completely up in each cases. Therapeutic measures for the remaining 5 patients of visual rupture of the pleura who were subjected to surgical approach for radical treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax were accordingly complicated, and the following different procedures were properly indicated case by case, that is, rib resection thoracostomy, simple closure of ruptured visceral pleura, wedged resection of the lung, and lobectomy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.692-696
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• 1998

For the management of a secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, videothoracoscopic surgery may offer the potential therapeutic benefits of a minimally invasive approach. We report on a series of 36 patients(33 men and 3 women) with a mean age of 56.3 years(range, 31 to 80 years) who underwent thoracoscopic surgical procedures for the treatment of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. Twenty-one patients had emphysema and 20 patients had old pulmonary tuberculosis. Nineteen patients presented a persistent severe air leak more than 3 days preoperatively and 15 patients had more than one recurrence. Bullectomy or exclusion of the lesion was performed in 33 patients. Mechanical pleurodesis was performed in the entire patients, talc was sprayed in 22 and vibramycin in 14. Mild pleural adhesion at the upper lobe was shown in 10 patients and severe pleural adhesion in 7 patients. One patient with persistent air leak died of persistent air leak and respiratory failure. The mean postoperative stay was 7.0 days(range, 2 to 17 days). At a mean follow-up of 15.8 months (range, 5 to 45 months), no pneumothorax had recurred. In comparison with the result of the treatment for 112 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax, the operating time was not significantly longer and there were no more primary treatment failures, but the duration of postoperative chest drainage and hospital stay was longer. Videothoracoscopic surgery has proved to be an effective treatment for secondary spontaneous pneumothorax in elderly patients who represent high-risk candidates for thoracotomy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.890-894
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• 1991

We have performed a prospective study to assess the efficacy of suction drainage in 45 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax and 15 patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, treated by closed chest tube drainage with underwater seal during the period Jan. 1990 to Dec. 1990 at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Yeungnam University Hospital. The patients were divided randomly into two groups, 28 cases receiving suction and the other 32 cases no suction. The success rate was 82.1% for the former and 87.5% for the latter with the overall success rate of 85.0% and there was no significant difference in success rate between the two groups According to the causes and the extent of pneumothorax, the difference between the success rates of the two groups was also not significant statistically. But according to the duration of air leakage, suction group under 2 days showed a high success rate[46.4%] and the same group with 3-4 days, a relatively low success rate[21.4%] compared with that of the former. We conclude that the suction treatment is somewhat valuable in shortening the tubing time in patients with small amounts of air leakage, but it doesn`t seem to increase the success rate in all patients.