Risk factors associated with neonatal pneumothorax in the neonatal intensive care unit: 10 years of experience in a single-center
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In brief
In brief
This 10-year retrospective study identifies key risk factors for mortality in neonates with pneumothorax requiring chest tube placement. Primary lung disease, mechanical ventilation need, bilateral pneumothorax, and birth weight under 2500g significantly worsen prognosis, with 28.6% mortality in ventilated patients versus zero in non-ventilated cases.
- Neonatal pneumothorax requiring mechanical ventilation carries 28.6% mortality risk versus 0% in spontaneously breathing infants.
- Primary lung disease, bilateral pneumothorax, and birth weight ≤2500g are significant independent mortality predictors in NICU pneumothorax.
- Over half (55.6%) of pneumothorax cases occurred in term/late-preterm infants (≥36 weeks), not just extreme prematurity.
- Two-thirds of NICU pneumothorax cases had underlying primary lung disease; one-third had associated congenital anomalies.
- All neonates managed without mechanical ventilation survived, highlighting ventilator support as key prognostic threshold.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
Background
We aimed to evaluate the epidemiological characteristics, risk factors and prognostic factors affecting the clinical follow-up of patients who underwent tube thoracostomy due to pneumothorax in the neonatal intensive care unit of our hospital.
Methods
In our study; 54 cases with neonatal pneumothorax underwent tube thoracostomy followed up in the neonatal intensive care unit between April 2014 and March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.
Results
The gestational age of the cases was between 28 and 38 weeks; 24 (44.4%) were premature and 30 (55.6%) were 36 weeks and above. Of the cases included in the study, 35 (64.8%) had primary lung disease and 19 (35.2%) had other anomalies accompanying pneumothorax. Mechanical ventilation was needed in 35 (64.8%) of the 54 cases included in the study. While all patients who did not require mechanical ventilation recovered, 10 of 35 patients (28.6%) who required mechanical ventilation died. The body weight of 10 of these 35 cases (28.6%) was 2500 g or less.
Conclusion
It was determined that accompanying primary lung disease, the need to connect to a ventilator, and bilateral pneumothorax significantly affected mortality and prognosis in premature babies, especially those weighing less than 2500 g, who were followed in the neonatal intensive care unit.