Pneumothorax in Children: A Study of 47 Pediatric Cases at Mali Hospital 2017-2020

Abstract

Objectives: Pediatric pneumothorax, whether primary or secondary (infection, trauma, or iatrogenic), is sometimes life-threatening. We tried to determine the clinical characteristics of pediatric pneumothorax in Mali. Materials and Methods: We collected all pediatric patients (0 - 15 years) admitted for pneumothorax in the pediatric department of the Mali Hospital from January 2017 to December 2020. Results: During this period, a total of 5569 children aged 0 - 15 years were hospitalized, of whom 47 had pneumothorax or 0.84%. Children under 5 years of age were the most affected (80%). Dyspnea was the most common reason for hospitalization (95.7%). The causes of pneumothorax were (in order): infectious causes dominated by bullous dystrophies (70.2%), traumatic (25.5%), and iatrogenic (4.2%). Pneumothorax was compressive in 42.6%. The frequency of anemia was 79.3%. Surgical drainage was performed in 87.2% and almost all (97.6%) were treated with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. The mean duration of hospitalization was 10.06 days (range: 0 - 35 days): 74.5% were cured while 25.5% died. Conclusions: We reconfirmed that pneumothorax is a pediatric emergency. Children under 5 years of age are the most affected. The main etiologies are infectious bronchopneumonia. The prevention and treatment of respiratory infections, the implementation of good bacteriological diagnostic tools, and the use of surgical video-thoracoscopy will reduce its mortality rate.