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Previous Volume 342:868-874 March 23, 2000 Number 12 Next

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Pneumothorax is classified as spontaneous (not caused by trauma or any obvious precipitating factor), traumatic, or iatrogenic (Table 1). Primary spontaneous pneumothorax occurs in persons without clinically apparent lung disease; secondary spontaneous pneumothorax is a complication of preexisting lung disease. Iatrogenic pneumothorax results from a complication of a diagnostic or therapeutic intervention. Traumatic pneumothorax is caused by penetrating or blunt trauma to the chest, with air entering the pleural space directly through the chest wall; visceral pleural penetration; or alveolar rupture due to sudden compression of the chest. In this review we focus on spontaneous pneumothorax.

View this table: [in this window] [in a new window]   Table 1. Classification of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

 
Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Epidemiology

Pathophysiology

Clinical Presentation

Diagnosis

Recurrence

Secondary Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Epidemiology

Pathophysiology

Clinical Presentation

Diagnosis

Recurrence

Treatment

Reexpansion of the Lung

Persistent Air Leaks

Preventing Recurrences

Interventions to Prevent Recurrences

Patients with HIV Infection

Future Directions

Source Information

From the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Sahn at the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, 96 Jonathan Lucas St., Suite 812, P.O. Box 250623, Charleston, SC 29425, or at sahnsa@musc.edu.

References

Related Letters:

Spontaneous Pneumothorax
Wallach S. L., Taylor G., Sahn S. A., Heffner J. E.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 2000; 343:300-301, Jul 27, 2000. Correspondence

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