This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology of spontaneous pneumothorax

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Causes of spontaneous pneumothorax include:

  • in primary pneumothorax
    • typically occur in tall, thin males
    • underlying small subpleural bleb or bulla
    • tobacco smoking
      • a retrospective study carried out in Stockholm have revealed that relative risk of a first pneumothorax is increased by ninefold in women who smoke and by 22-fold in men who smoke
      • in addition there is an association between the number of cigarettes smoked a day and risk of pneumothorax.
  • in secondary pneumothorax
    • obstructive lung disease – COPD (commonest cause), aasthma
    • suppurative lung disease – bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis
    • lung malignancy
    • infections – pneumonia, tuberculosis
    • interstitial lung disease - pulmonary fibrosis, extrinsic allergic alveolitis
    • thoracic endometriosis (1,2)

Reference:

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.