Systematic review and meta-analysis on juvenile primary spontaneous pneumothorax: Conservative or surgical approach first?

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) prevalence is typically higher in juvenile patients than in adults. We aimed to evaluate the optimal treatment for primary spontaneous pneumothorax and its efficacy and safety in juveniles. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases for eligible studies published from database inception to October 10, 2020, and conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The primary and secondary outcomes were recurrence rate and hospital stay length, respectively. Odds ratios (OR) and mean differences were used for quantitatively analyzing binary and continuous outcomes, respectively. In total, nine retrospective studies with 1,452 juvenile patients (aged