Investigation of Demographic Characteristics of Spontaneous Pneumothorax Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department

Abstract

Background: Pneumothorax (PNX) is the presence of air between the parietal and visceral pleura and secondary lung collapse. This study aimed to analyze the demographic analysis of patients who applied to the emergency department and were found to have spontaneous PNX and to investigate the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: Patients diagnosed with spontaneous PNX and admitted to the emergency department between January 01, 2020 and August 01, 2022 were analyzed. The hospital data processing system examined the patient’s vital signs, the complaint of admission to the emergency department, chronic diseases, imaging method, the treatment applied, outcome, and the presence of past COVID-19 diagnosis. Results: Of the patients who developed spontaneous PNX, 87.5% (n = 105) were male. The most common comorbid disease observed in patients is hypertension (23.3%), and 10.8% of patients have a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ten percent of the patients have a history of PNX, and 15% have a history of previous thoracic surgery for various reasons. 6.7% of the patients had COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: PNX is a disease that all physicians can encounter and require urgent intervention, and it is important to know both the treatment options and the factors associated with the disease.