Characterization of spontaneous pneumothorax in patients at the “Dr. Leon Cuervo Rubio" Teaching Surgical Clinical Hospital

Introduction: pneumothorax is defined as a disease caused by the entry of air into the virtual space that separates the visceral and parietal pleura; this air causes loss of contact between them and a lung collapse. Objective: to characterize the behavior of spontaneous pneumothorax in patients at the “Dr. Leon Cuervo Rubio” Teaching Surgical Clinical Hospital. Methods: an observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in 43 patients with clinical radiological diagnosis of spontaneous pneumothorax, treated at the “Dr. León Cuervo Rubio ” Hospital during 2019. Descriptive statistics were used, and bioethical principles were met. Results: a predominance of male patients (72,09 %) and aged between 60 and 69 years (37,20 %) was found. 90,69 % presented dyspnea and 83,72 % presented chest pain. A predominance of patients with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was found (86,04 %). 48,83 % of the patients were treated with a minimal high pleurostomy and 48,83 % presented tube obstruction. Conclusions: older adults, mainly males and with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, were prone to developing pneumothorax. The main symptomatology was dyspnea, minimal high pleurostomy the main treatment, and tube obstruction was the main complication. The identification of vulnerable populations, as well as the follow-up of patients with previous pneumothorax, is a necessity.