2023 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 2-7
In general, primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) rarely shows a serious clinical course in young patients. Therefore, conservative therapy is normally selected to treat a first episode of pneumothorax. The recurrence rate in several publications has been reported to range from 32.1-55.6%. We often perform surgical treatment for recurrent pneumothorax. In the present study, we discuss the surgical indication for the first episode of pneumothorax with severe collapse. The recurrence rate and collapsed volume in the second episode of PSP were compared between cases with non-severe collapse and those with severe collapse. The recurrence rate in the non-severe and severe groups was 45.3 and 51.5%, respectively, while the rate of severe collapse for the second episode of PSP in the non-severe and severe groups was 9.8 and 40.0%, respectively. As a result, when managing the first episode of pneumothorax with severe collapse, surgical treatment should be selected instead of conservative therapy.
