{"title":"Comparison of Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis Among Spontaneous Pneumothorax Patients of Different Ages: A Two-Year Follow-Up Study.","authors":"Ting Wang, Yang Bai","doi":"10.2147/IJGM.S397474","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Spontaneous pneumothorax (SP), which is usually characterized by sudden chest pain and shortness of breath, can occur at any age. In this study, patients with SP across various age groups were enrolled, and their clinical features and prognoses were compared.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>The patients were divided into three groups: neonates (n=52), adolescents/adults (n=76), and elderly (n=70). All patients were followed up for two years. The patients' clinical characteristics, treatments, laboratory indicators on admission, and symptoms over two years were collected and compared. Additionally, as most patients in the elderly group had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), data about patients' lung function tests and medication were also analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with adolescents/adults (6.45±0.24 days), patients with SP in the neonate and elderly groups had more comorbidities, resulting in a longer hospital stay (13.85±0.34 days in neonates and 9.50±0.36 days in the elderly). The main comorbidities in the latter two groups were neonatal asphyxia (17/52) and COPD (48/70), respectively. During the two-year follow-up period, elderly patients with SP had more long-term respiratory symptoms, including coughing, expectoration, and dyspnea, than those in the other two groups. Analysis of the main subgroup (48 COPD cases) in the elderly group revealed that, in the two years after the occurrence of pneumothorax, acute exacerbation times increased; group E cases/(A+B) cases were 4/44, 4/44, 5/43, and 7/41 every 6 months respectively. Additionally, lung function indexes (FEV1, FVC, MEF<sub>25,50,75</sub>) decreased.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Compared to adolescents and adults, newborn and elderly patients with SP are more prone to comorbid lung diseases and longer hospitalization times. The prognosis of neonates is significantly better than the other groups. Increased frequency of acute exacerbations and a deteriorating trend in pulmonary function were observed in patients with COPD after discharge.</p>","PeriodicalId":14131,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of General Medicine","volume":"17 ","pages":"5849-5858"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11629672/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of General Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S397474","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: Spontaneous pneumothorax (SP), which is usually characterized by sudden chest pain and shortness of breath, can occur at any age. In this study, patients with SP across various age groups were enrolled, and their clinical features and prognoses were compared.
Patients and methods: The patients were divided into three groups: neonates (n=52), adolescents/adults (n=76), and elderly (n=70). All patients were followed up for two years. The patients' clinical characteristics, treatments, laboratory indicators on admission, and symptoms over two years were collected and compared. Additionally, as most patients in the elderly group had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), data about patients' lung function tests and medication were also analyzed.
Results: Compared with adolescents/adults (6.45±0.24 days), patients with SP in the neonate and elderly groups had more comorbidities, resulting in a longer hospital stay (13.85±0.34 days in neonates and 9.50±0.36 days in the elderly). The main comorbidities in the latter two groups were neonatal asphyxia (17/52) and COPD (48/70), respectively. During the two-year follow-up period, elderly patients with SP had more long-term respiratory symptoms, including coughing, expectoration, and dyspnea, than those in the other two groups. Analysis of the main subgroup (48 COPD cases) in the elderly group revealed that, in the two years after the occurrence of pneumothorax, acute exacerbation times increased; group E cases/(A+B) cases were 4/44, 4/44, 5/43, and 7/41 every 6 months respectively. Additionally, lung function indexes (FEV1, FVC, MEF25,50,75) decreased.
Conclusion: Compared to adolescents and adults, newborn and elderly patients with SP are more prone to comorbid lung diseases and longer hospitalization times. The prognosis of neonates is significantly better than the other groups. Increased frequency of acute exacerbations and a deteriorating trend in pulmonary function were observed in patients with COPD after discharge.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of General Medicine is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal that focuses on general and internal medicine, pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment protocols. The journal is characterized by the rapid reporting of reviews, original research and clinical studies across all disease areas.
A key focus of the journal is the elucidation of disease processes and management protocols resulting in improved outcomes for the patient. Patient perspectives such as satisfaction, quality of life, health literacy and communication and their role in developing new healthcare programs and optimizing clinical outcomes are major areas of interest for the journal.
As of 1st April 2019, the International Journal of General Medicine will no longer consider meta-analyses for publication.