Table 1.
Clinical features, respiratory support, intervention performed, and outcome of the patients with air leak.
| Variable | N (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Previous respiratory illness | Present | 19 (11) |
| COPD | 10 (5) | |
| Asthma | 7 (4) | |
| ILD | 1 (1) | |
| Tuberculosis | 1 (1) | |
| Lung malignancy | 0 | |
| None | 116 (62) | |
| History of smoking | Yes | 15 (8) |
| No | 66 (35) | |
| Clinical features at the time of event | Chest pain | 44 (23) |
| Acute respiratory distress syndrome | 52 (28) | |
| Worsening of respiratory condition | 111 (59) | |
| Cough intractable | 18 (10) | |
| Hemodynamic instability | 12 (6) | |
| Abnormal swelling on face or chest | 26 (14) | |
| Shock | 1 (1) | |
| Not reported | 16 (9) | |
| Respiratory support during the event | Oxygen by low flow mask | 23 (12) |
| Non rebreathing mask | 6 (3) | |
| Non-invasive ventilation | 14 (7) | |
| High-frequency nasal canula | 20 (11) | |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation | 52 (28) | |
| During endotracheal intubation | 1 (1%) | |
| None | 59 (31) | |
| Diagnostic modality | Initial diagnosis | Confirmation |
| Chest X-ray | 81 (43%) | 25 (13) |
| Clinical assessment | 51 (27%) | 3 (2) |
| Ultrasonography | 3 (2%) | 2 (1) |
| CT thorax | 41 (22%) | 67 (36) |
| Not given | 11 (6%) | |
| Intervention for air leak | Intercostal drain | |
| Unilateral | 79 (42) | |
| Bilateral | 14 (7) | |
| Percutaneous catheter | 1 (1) | |
| Thoracoscopic intervention | 4 (2) | |
| Blowhole skin incision | 1 (1) | |
| Other | 5 (5) | |
| Not reported | 18 (10) | |
| Outcome | Mortality | 58 (31) |
| Not reported | 34 (18) | |
| Air leak with use of positive support and outcome | Use of positive pressure(%)Mortality(%) | P ≤ 0.001 |
| Yes, 66(43.4%) | 36(55%) | |
| No, 86(56.6%) | 19(23%) | |
| Correlation between respiratory support and outcome | Change Number (%) | P=0.006 |
| Escalation | 71(39%) | |
| De-escalation | 18(10%) | |
| No change | 96(51%) | |
| Correlation between treatment strategy and outcome | Strategy Mortality (%) | P = 0.07 |
| Conservative | 26 (44.1%) | |
| Invasive | 23 (29.1%) |
COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ILD: interstitial lung disease, CT: computed tomography.