Characteristics of the hospitalisations with primary spontaneous pneumothorax on first admission
| Variable | Overall | Female | Male |
| Patients | 514 | 75 (15%) | 439 (85%) |
| Characteristics at first onset | |||
| Sudden onset of symptoms | 490 (95%) | 68 (91%) | 422 (96%) |
| Admitted to hospital within 24 h after onset | 385 (75%) | 46 (61%) | 339 (77%) |
| Symptom onset during | |||
| Sleep | 82 (16%) | 11 (14%) | 71 (16%) |
| Rest | 359 (70%) | 59 (79%) | 300 (68%) |
| Normal activities of daily living | 56 (11%) | 5 (7%) | 51 (12%) |
| Exercise | 17 (3%) | 0 | 17 (4%) |
| Treatment facility at first admittance | |||
| Cardiothoracic centre | 99 (19%) | 14 (19%) | 85 (19%) |
| General surgical/medical ward | 326 (64%) | 45 (60%) | 281 (64%) |
| Referred from general ward to cardiothoracic centre | 89 (17%) | 16 (21%) | 73 (17%) |
| Hospitalisation duration days | |||
| Median (range) | 4 (1–30) | 4 (1–20) | 4 (1–30) |
| Mean±sd | 5.1±4.27 | 5.8±5.03 | 5.0±4.11 |
| Treatment on first admission | |||
| Initial treatment | |||
| Observation | 74 (14%) | 11 (15%) | 63 (14%) |
| Chest tube with/without suction | 440 (86%) | 64 (85%) | 376 (86%) |
| Surgical treatment performed during the first admission | |||
| VATS resection of blebs with partial pleurectomy or pleural abrasion | 88 (17%) | 21 (28%) | 69 (16%) |
| Resection of bullae by thoracotomy | 2 (0.5%) | 0 | 2 (0.5%) |
VATS: video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.