Severity of Pectus Excavatum is a Risk Factor for Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between bleb formation, primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) and pectus excavatum (PE). METHODS: From July 2005 to December 2016, the records of 514 patients with PE who underwent the Nuss procedure were obtained from a prospectively collected database and reviewed. Clinical features, images and treatments were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The incidence rate of bleb formation was 26.5% in PE patients. The bleb group had a greater body height (174.4 cm vs. 170.4 cm, p < 0.001), a higher Haller index (HI; 4.2 vs. 3.43, p < 0.001) and a higher risk of developing PSP than the non-bleb group (risk ratio 9.8, p = 0.002). HI values larger than 3.615 had good discriminatory power for predicting bleb formation in patients with PE. With each increase in the HI, PE patients had a 2.2-fold greater odds ratio of bleb formation (odds ratio 2.221, CI 1.481-3.330, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: We discovered that a high percentage of PE patients have bleb formation and a higher risk of PSP, especially those with an HI >3.615. High-resolution computed tomography of the chest may be useful for evaluating both the HI and the presence of blebs in the lungs before performing a corrective surgical procedure.