Pneumothorax is a state in which outside gas enters the pleural cavity and causes a buildup of gas. The formation of pneumothorax is mostly due to rupture of lung tissue, trachea, bronchus, esophagus and air escaping into the pleural cavity, or due to a wound in the chest wall penetrating the pleura and the pleural cavity communicating with the outside world and the entry of outside air. There are several types of pneumothorax, and treatment depends on the specific situation, and there is no such thing as which method is the fastest. Specific instructions are as follows:
Those caused by trauma to the chest wall or lungs are called traumatic pneumothorax; those caused by disease that causes the lung tissue to rupture on its own are called spontaneous pneumothorax, and those caused by artificially injecting air into the pleural cavity for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes are called artificial pneumothorax. Pneumothorax can be further categorized into closed pneumothorax, open pneumothorax (which needs to be converted to closed pneumothorax before treatment) and tension pneumothorax. Treatment methods are:
1. General treatment, patients with pneumothorax should have absolute bed rest, talk as little as possible, and fully inhale oxygen, so that lung activity can be reduced, which is conducive to gas absorption and lung reexpansion. It is suitable for patients with the first attack, lung atrophy under 20%, not accompanied by dyspnea.
2. Exhaustion therapy, applicable to patients with obvious dyspnea and heavier lung compression, especially tension pneumothorax requiring urgent exhaustion.
3. Lung or herpetic rupture closure, in the diagnosis of emphysema herpetic rupture without other substantial lung lesions, the rupture can be closed without opening the chest by endoscopy using laser or adhesive.
4. Surgical treatment is an effective way to treat persistent pneumothorax and the most effective measure to prevent recurrence.