What is a pneumothorax? The entry of gas into the pleural cavity is called a pneumothorax. What effect will pneumothorax have on the body? 1.After the occurrence of pneumothorax, the affected lung is compressed and the lung capacity is reduced because the free gas occupies a certain space. 2.The gas in the pleural cavity changes the elements of intrathoracic pressure changes and the dynamics of pulmonary respiration is negatively affected. 3.The continuous increase in pleural cavity pressure can have a serious impact on the cardiac macrovascular function. 4.Prolonged pneumothorax state can cause pleural cavity infection, pulmonary atelectasis and lung infection. 5.Some tension pneumothorax can present with inflated and swollen skin on the body surface – subcutaneous emphysema. 6.Very few patients can suffer from severe lack of oxygen in the body leading to failure of vital organs or death. Causes and classification of pneumothorax: According to the causes of pneumothorax formation can be divided into spontaneous pneumothorax, traumatic pneumothorax and medical pneumothorax (artificial pneumothorax). According to the change of pleural cavity pressure, it can be divided into closed pneumothorax, open pneumothorax and tension pneumothorax. Traumatic pneumothorax is mostly caused by sharps injuries or severe violent injuries to the chest, medical pneumothorax is mostly caused by invasive operations on the chest or adjacent areas, and spontaneous pneumothorax is caused by changes in the underlying pathological state of the lung surface – the most common clinical condition is rupture of pulmonary blisters. What are the main manifestations of pneumothorax? Patients with pneumothorax can present different clinical manifestations depending on the age of the patient, the state of lung function reserve, and the severity of the pneumothorax. The initial symptoms of spontaneous pneumothorax in young adults are mainly sudden chest pain after activity or coughing, and gradually increasing chest tightness and breath-holding after a few hours. Older patients with spontaneous pneumothorax will develop chest tightness and shortness of breath very early because of poor lung reserve function, and their condition will progress rapidly. If not diagnosed and treated in time, it can easily lead to serious consequences. Patients with traumatic pneumothorax may develop more obvious symptoms of dyspnea based on the original injury, which is mostly diagnosed in time during imaging. Medically induced pneumothorax mostly occurs a few hours after an invasive medical operation with mild chest tightness, which is usually not too serious because the lung wound will heal on its own and is mostly a closed pneumothorax. Diagnosis of pneumothorax: An experienced physician will think of a pneumothorax based on the onset of the trigger and the derivation of symptoms. During physical examination, patients with obvious pneumothorax can show tracheal deviation, one side of the chest bulge, widening of rib space, drum sound on percussion, and loss of breath sounds on the affected side on auscultation, which can basically confirm the diagnosis of pneumothorax. Chest X-ray and CT examination can clarify the pneumothorax and its severity. Treatment of pneumothorax: Conservative treatment: If a small amount of pneumothorax (less than 20%), symptoms are not obvious and the pneumothorax is not expected to increase, the activities can be controlled under close supervision and reviewed regularly, and most of them can disappear within 2 weeks. If symptoms are found to worsen or the pneumothorax increases, disposal measures should be taken decisively. Pleural puncture and aspiration: Pleural puncture and aspiration can be used to relieve symptoms if the pneumonia volume is above 20% to below 50%. This method is incomplete, easy to repeat, and has the risk of causing medically induced pneumothorax and pleural cavity infection. It is recommended to operate no more than 3 times. Pleural cavity closed drainage: It is the most basic means for surgeons to provide first aid and treatment to pneumothorax patients. This method can quickly relieve the effect of pneumothorax on respiratory function and relieve the risk. more than 90% of pneumothorax patients can be cured, but it cannot solve the problem of pneumothorax recurrence. Open-chest surgery or TV thoracoscopic minimally invasive surgery: Using a tiny incision in the chest to open the chest or with the help of TV thoracoscopic minimally invasive surgery, the number and location of pneumothorax can be visually detected and the threatening pneumothorax can be completely removed, minimizing the probability of recurrence. A few points about spontaneous pneumothorax and pulmonary herpes: Spontaneous pneumothorax and pulmonary herpes are not two separate diseases, but two states of one disease. Pneumothorax is the underlying disease and pneumothorax is a complication of pneumothorax, and more than 95% of spontaneous pneumothorax is caused by rupture of pneumothorax. The application and popularization of TV thoracoscopic surgery has led to a fundamental change in physicians’ understanding and treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax, and the treatment method has also entered the stage of treating both the symptoms and the root cause from the previous simple treatment of pneumothorax. Pneumothorax treatment advocates a one-time radical cure. Just like appendicitis, conservative treatment can only solve the acute state, and does not solve the disease itself, but increases the difficulty of surgical eradication, repeatedly experiencing the torment of the disease and wasting medical expenses. Tip: Pneumomediastinum often exists on both sides of the lungs at the same time, and the most dangerous complication is the simultaneous appearance of spontaneous pneumothorax on both sides. Although the probability is very low, once it occurs, it can quickly kill a person.