Turkish Journal of Pediatric Surgery

Sefa Sağ1, Levent Elemen1, Halil İbrahim Çakmak2, Ahmet Salih Calapoğlu2, Kaan Masrabaci1

1University of Health Sciences, Sancaktepe Şehit Prof. Dr. İlhan Varank Training and Research Hospital, Department of Pediatric Surgery, İstanbul/ Turkey
2Rize Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Rize/Turkey

Keywords: Child, spontaneous pneumothorax, retrospective study

Abstract

Objective: To present the follow-up and treatment experiences of two centers regarding primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP), which is rare in childhood, in the light of the literature.

Methods: Age, gender, height, body mass index (BMI), complaint, radiological findings, pneumothorax percentages, follow-up and treatment records of patients with PSP who admited to two centers between 1 August 2016 and 1 August 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: A total of 23 patients were included in the study. Twenty-one (91.3%) patients were male, 2 (8.7%) were female, and the mean age was 16.4±0.6 years. Mean height was 180.8±7.9 cm, and BMI was 21.1±2.6 kg/m2. The main complaints were chest pain, respiratory distress, cough and shoulder pain. Chest X-ray was taken in all patients. Computed tomography ( CT) was performed in 9 patients (40.9%) who had persistent air leaks, developed recurrence and whose diagnosis could not be determined by X-ray. Conservative treatment (nasal oxygen 2-4 lt/min) was performed to 5 patients with pneumothorax percentage below 15% at the first admission, and tube thoracostomy in 18 patients. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was performed in 8 (36.3%) cases. Recurrence developed in 4 (18.1%) cases.

Conclusion: There is no standard approach in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up process of childhood PSP. We think that new and prospective studies are needed in order to provide a standard approach on this issue. We think that VATS is an effective surgical method in the treatment. In addition, we considered that CT can be a useful diagnostic tool in management of PSP.

Cite as: Sağ S, Elemen L, Çakmak Hİ, Calapoğlu AS, Masrabaci K. Çocukluk Çağı Primer Spontan Pnömotoraks Olgularına Yaklaşım. Coc Cer Derg/Turkish J Ped Surg 2022;36(1): 1-5. doi: 10.29228/JTAPS.53851