Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax Presenting with Acute Abdominal Pain in an Adolescent Boy

Abstract

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax typically occurs in tall, thin, adolescent boys and young adults. Nearly all patients have chest pain or acute dyspnea. We report an adolescent boy with primary spontaneous pneumothorax who presented with acute abdominal pain. The chest radiograph revealed pneumothorax in the left hemithorax. Abdominal pain subsided after tube thoracostomy. Physicians working in the emergency department should be aware of extra-abdominal pathologies mimicking acute abdominal pain. This case suggests that a chest radiograph should be included in the evaluation of patients with abdominal pain of unknown cause despite the absence of respiratory symptoms or signs.