Spontaneous pneumothorax. A review of 210 consecutive admissions to Royal Perth Hospital

A series of the 210 consecutive admissions of patients with spontaneous pneumothorax to a large teaching hospital over a five-year period, was reviewed and analysed with regard to age and sex of the patient, side of involvement, family history, association with exertion, association with respiratory tract disease, incidence of recurrence, method of management, duration of pleural cavity drainage, duration of hospitalization, and pattern of unit admission. Spontaneous pneumothorax was a disease of young males, with a peak incidence at 16 to 25 years of age. For the majority of patients it was an isolated event, with left-sided predominance. It was neither familial nor fatal, and most commonly occurred in the absence of a history of exertion or of clinical evidence of concurrent respiratory disease. The usual method of definitive treatment involved the insertion of an intercostal catheter and resulted in hospitalization for a period of up to ten days.