SPONTANEOUS PNEUMOTHORAX - A SINGLE-INSTITUTION, 12-YEAR EXPERIENCE IN PATIENTS UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE

Objective: To characterize the natural history and outcome of spontane ous pneumothorax in patients under age 16 years. Design: This is a ret rospective review in which all patients admitted to the authors' insti tution (between December 1980 and July 1993) with a diagnosis of spont aneous pneumothorax were included. Information was obtained from the h ospital records. Setting: This study was performed in a university chi ldrens' hospital. patients: All patients under 16 years with a diagnos is of spontaneous pneumothorax were included. Results: Seventeen patie nts were admit ted and analyzed. Their age range was 2 to 16 years; 65 % were male. Only three admissions were for recurrence. The main sympt oms included chest pain (100%), shortness of breath (41%), and cough ( 6%). Chest tube drainage was successful in 65% of the cases; the media n time was 4 days. Two patients had a persistent air leak. An underlyi ng cause was recognized in 42% of cases. Seven operations were necessa ry, and the mean follow-up period is 31 months, with no recurrence rep orted to date. Conclusion: Spontaneous pneumothorax occurs in the pedi atric population, although it is less common than in adults. An underl ying pathology is more frequently observed in pediatric patients, but recurrence is less common. Chest tube drainage alone is sufficient tre atment for the majority of patients; however, a significant number req uire some form of surgical intervention. Copyright (C) 1995 by W.B. Sa unders Company.