Sudden Chest Pain and Shortness of Breath in Emergency Department; Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Spontaneous Pneumothorax (SP) is defined as the accumulation of free air in the pleural space. It should be considered as a priority in patients consulting the emergency service with sudden chest pain and shortness of breath. In our study, we aimed to emphasize the differential diagnosis of pneumothorax in patients coming to the emergency service with sudden chest pain and shortness of breath. Thirty five cases of patients with SP admitted to the emergency room of Artvin State Hospital between January 2015 and March 2017 were retrospectively evaluated based on their demographic characteristics, radiological stage and treatment methods. Patients on follow-up with oxygen therapy and those treated with fine needle aspiration were excluded from the study. The pneumothorax evaluation detected in the postero-anterior chest radiographies were tested according to the measurement of American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) and were divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of patients with pneumothorax where Apical > 3 cm (50% or more), and Group 2 consisted of patients with less than apical < 3 cm pneumothorax (less than 50%). After the grouping, the relationship between patients with primary and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was evaluated by using regression and correlation tests. Thirty were male and 5 were female of the patients whose mean age was 45.8±5. Twenty-six patients had primary spontaneous pneumothorax, and nine had secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. In the statistical study based on double regression analysis, it was seen that the amount of pneumothorax measured on chest X-ray was dependent on the SP type by 84%. It was measured that the pneumothorax value measured over (p<0,01) 50% would support PSP with 87,3% sensitivity and 89,2% specificity (p<0,01). While 24 patients benefited from tube thoracostomy, open surgery or video-thorascopics method (VATS) and bulla ligation and pleural abrasion were conducted on 4 patients due to prolonged air leakage and 7 patients due to recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax. Spontaneous pneumothorax should be considered in every patient admitted to the emergency department with sudden shortness of breath and chest pain. SP diagnosis through direct radiography and planning for the treatment are very important in hospitals where the patient population is low and medical facilities are limited. Tube thoracostomy is the primary treatment option in patients with spontaneous pneumothorax. However, in patients with prolonged air leakage and recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax, thoracotomy or video-thoracoscopic