Introduction:

Spontaneous pneumothorax is the most frequent cause of urgent admission to thoracic surgery services.

Objective:

To characterize patients admitted with a diagnosis of spontaneous pneumothorax.

Methods:

A descriptive study of 93 patients with a clinical and radiological diagnosis of spontaneous pneumothorax was carried out, the study variables were established and absolute frequencies and percentages were used. For the association of the variables, the chi square statistic was used with a confidence level of 95%.

Results:

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax predominated (65.5%), the male sex was the most affected (80.6%), with greater frequency in the right hemithorax (72.2%) and smoking as the antecedent (83.9%). Minimal pleurostomy was the definitive treatment in 72% of the patients. The most frequent complication after pleurostomy was persistent air leak. Surgical treatment with mechanical pleurodesis offered 100% effectiveness. There was not surgical mortality.

Conclusions:

Spontaneous pneumothorax predominated in males in a ratio of 4.2: 1, in patients under 40 years of age. The most associated personal pathological history was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The predominant symptom was chest pain. Primary spontaneous pneumothorax was more frequent and the right hemithorax the most affected. Smoking was present as a history in both types of spontaneous pneumothorax. The most widely used treatment modality was minimal pleurostomy.

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