PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Rob J Hallifax
AU  - Magda Laskawiec-Szkonter
AU  - Najib M Rahman
ED  - ,
TI  - Predicting outcomes in primary spontaneous pneumothorax using air leak measurements
AID  - 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2018-212116
DP  - 2019 Apr 01
TA  - Thorax
PG  - 410--412
VI  - 74
IP  - 4
4099  - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/74/4/410.short
4100  - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/74/4/410.full
SO  - Thorax2019 Apr 01; 74
AB  - The initial treatment regime for primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is generic and non-personalised, often involving a long hospital stay waiting for air leak to cease. This prospective study of 81 patients with PSP, who required drain insertion, captured daily digital air leak measurements and assessed failure of medical management against prespecified criteria. Patients with higher air leak at day 1 or 2 had significantly longer hospital stay. If air leak was ≥100 mL/min on day 1, the adjusted OR of treatment failure was 5.2 (95% CI 1.2 to 22.6, p=0.03), demonstrating that early digital air leak measurements could potentially predict future medical treatment failure.Trial registration number ISRCTN79151659.