Etiology and prognosis of spontaneous pneumothorax in the elderly

Aim Spontaneous pneumothorax shows a bimodal age distribution, with the secondary peak including patients aged ≥50 years. The purpose of this study was to clarify the etiology and prognosis of spontaneous pneumothorax in the elderly. Methods Patients aged ≥50 years who were admitted to a tertiary university hospital between 2006 and 2016 due to spontaneous pneumothorax were retrospectively investigated. Results Among 136 consecutive patients aged ≥50 years with spontaneous pneumothorax (mean age, 70 years; 114 men), 124 (91%) had underlying lung diseases, including pulmonary emphysema (42%) and interstitial pneumonia (27%). The median period of thoracic drainage was longer (14 days) in the cases with interstitial pneumonia than in the cases of primary pneumothorax (4 days; P  < 0.001) and emphysema (9 days; P  < 0.005). Eighteen patients (13%) died within 180 days after the onset of pneumothorax. The mortality rate was highest in the cases with interstitial pneumonia (27%) and was mostly associated with infectious complications. Death or worsened respiratory failure within 180 days from admission was associated with older age, systemic corticosteroid use and interstitial pneumonia in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusions Pulmonary emphysema is the most common underlying disease associated with spontaneous pneumothorax in the elderly population. Pneumothorax associated with interstitial pneumonia is less frequent, but it requires prolonged tube thoracostomy and demonstrates higher mortality and morbidity, particularly in those receiving systemic corticosteroids. Different treatment strategies are warranted for patients with interstitial pneumonia‐related pneumothorax. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 878–884 .