The record of 137 patients with spontaneous pneumothorax seen at Busan National University Hospital during past 3years were reviewed to study the possible pathogenesis and its effective management. and the results obtained as follows;
1). The incidence of the "spontaneous pneumothorax which developed without underlying pathology was 13.1%. The majority of those cases was considered as the result of rupture of subpleural blebs.
2). The incidence of secondary pneumothorax which developed with underlying pathology was 50.0%, in which 42.3% was combined with pulmonary tuberculosis and 8.0% was combined with pulmonary infection. The traumatic pneumothorax was developed in 36.5 % of total series.
3). In age distribution, there was pronounced difference between spontaneous and secondary pneumothorax. The majority of spontaneous pneumothorax cases was 20-30 decade and tall and tall and thin in body structure. In secondary pneumothorax, however, the incidence was relatively high in age group more than 50 years old.
4). The incidence of pneumothorax combined with pulmonary tuberculosis was particucularyly high in our country, and the cause of pneumothorax was seemed due to the rupture of subpleural caseous foci in some cases, but the majority was seened due to the rupture of emphysematous blebs which were formed with a pathological process of chronic tuberculosis.
5). Closed (tube) thoracotomy was the main therapeutic approach of choice in the great majority of pneumothorax in our series with the relapse rate of 19.6%. However, open thoracotomy and aderuate surgical procedures should be undertaken in patients with continuous air leakage over 7 days and recurrent attack of pneumothorax.
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