Current Thoracic Surgery 2019 , Vol 4 , Issue 1
Is delayed puberty a new etiological factor for primary spontaneous pneumothorax?
Tevfik Ilker Akcam1,Sukran Darcan2,Ali Ozdil1,Onder Kavurmaci1,Ayse Gul Ergonul1,Kutsal Turhan1,Alpaslan Cakan1,Ufuk Cagirici1
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Ege University, School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
2Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Ege University, School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
DOI : 10.26663/cts.2019.0004 Viewed : 4531 - Downloaded : 2059 Background: Although the etiology of primer spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is not exactly understood, it has been suggested to be associated with rupture of bulla/bleb formations at the lung apices in thin, tall, young adults. In this study, we aim to evaluate whether delayed puberty is a new etiological factor for PSP.

Materials and Methods: A total of 91 patients who were treated for PSP in our clinic between January 2013 and September 2016 and who were scheduled for a follow-up visit by phone call and underwent pubertal-stage assessment were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: Of all patients, 10 (12.1%) were females and 81 (87.9%) were males. The mean age was 25.90 ± 6.83 (range, 17 to 38) years and the mean height was 178.90 ± 7.6 (range, 161 to 197) cm. The mean age at menarche of female patients was 14.20 ± 1.31 (range, 12 to 17) years. The women had a late age at menarche compared to the overall Turkish female population (p < 0.0001). The mean age for the development of facial hairs in the men was 16.63 ± 1.69 (range, 13 to 22) years, showing a later age, compared to the overall Turkish male population (p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: Our study results showed that the patients with pneumothorax had an advanced age at puberty, compared to the normal overall population, and that the pubertal growth spurt occurred within a short period of time. This condition is also suggested to have an effect on the lung maturity and the development of pneumothorax. Keywords : primer spontaneous pneumothorax, pubertal growth, lung maturity