Spontaneous pneumothorax in children: a radiological perspective

Background

Spontaneous pneumothorax is a common clinical condition due to several etiologies. Appropriate radiologic assessment helps avoid re-imaging and guide individualized management.

Objective

To describe the etiologic factors of spontaneous pneumothorax in children from a radiological perspective.

Materials and methods

Thirty-nine children with spontaneous pneumothorax were evaluated according to their demographic characteristics, the presence of underlying lung diseases, and imaging findings.

Results

Twenty-one patients without underlying lung disease were assessed as primary spontaneous pneumothorax; eight of these 21 patients (38.9%) had subpleural air cysts in the apices/upper lobes of the lung on chest computed tomography (CT). In the remaining 18 patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, the most common causes were respiratory diseases (33.3%), infectious lung diseases (33.3%), interstitial lung diseases (27.7%), and connective tissue diseases (5.5%). The mean age of children with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was lower than that of children with primary spontaneous pneumothorax (P = 0.002). Recurrences occurred in 11 patients (52.3%) with primary spontaneous pneumothorax and three patients (16.6%) with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax. Bilateral pneumothorax was observed in three of the 18 patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax.

Conclusion

Identifying the etiologic factors of spontaneous pneumothorax may help clinicians plan how to reduce the risk of recurrence. Radiologists should keep in mind the possible underlying diseases and assess imaging methods in children with spontaneous pneumothorax for subpleural air cysts and be suspicious about an underlying disease in cases of bilateral pneumothorax and in younger patients.

Graphical Abstract