[Spontaneous pneumothorax--a study of medical records. High age is the most significant risk factor of prolonged length of stay].

In this retrospective study 53 consecutive in-hospital patients with spontaneous pneumothorax were studied. The most common initial treatments were tube drainage (n = 38) and needle drainage (n = 8). The median length of stay at hospital was 6 days, with increasing age as the strongest predictor. About one third of the patients had some sort of complication, but these were in general not so serious. During the follow up period (6-44 months) we found that 21% of the patients needed a second hospitalisation because of pneumothorax. Women had an increased risk for recurrence. Our results indicate that needle drainage, in selected situations, is a valuable alternative to tube drainage, with a shorter length of stay and less complications.