Diagnosis and Treatment of 87 Cases of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Complicated by Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Objective: To explore the clinical features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) complicated by spontaneous pneumothorax. Methods:We analyzed retrospectively the data of 87 patients with COPD complicated by spontaneous pneumothorax who were treated in our hospital during last 8 years. Results:Among those patients,the diagnosis of 45 cases(51.72%) was definite by typical manifestation at admission,28 cases(32.18%) were supported by chest X-ray or CT examination because the atypical manifestation,14 severe cases(16.09%) were mistake and omission for the auxiliary examination delayed,8 cases died(9.19%). Conclusion:The main causes of misdiagnosis and miss-diagnosis were atypical clinical manifestation,complicated by COPD,auxiliary examination delayed because of patient's severe condition.The erroneous and delayed treatments may result in high rate of death.