Pneumothorax: Diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Pneumothorax is defined as the presence ofair in the pleural cavity, ie, the space between the chest wall and the lung itself. Pneumotho- rax is classified ethiologically into spontaneous pneu- mothorax and traumatic pneumothorax. Spontaneous pneumothorax is further classified into primary and se- condary. Traumatic pneumothorax may result from eit- her blunt trauma or penetrating injury to the chest wall. It can also be caused by iatrogenic injuries. Spontaneo- us pneumothorax is a significant health problem beca- use of the high recurrence rate (this is so called recur- rent pneumothorax).