Table 1 Aetiologies of pneumothorax

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax

Associated with male sex, increased height, thin body habitus, and smoking

Secondary pneumothorax

Airway diseases

 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

 Cystic fibrosis

 Asthma

Infectious causes

 Tuberculosis

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia

 Necrotizing bacterial pneumonia

Interstitial lung disease

 Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

 Lymphangioleiomyomatosis

 Langerhans cell histiocytosis

 Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia

 Sarcoidosis

Connective tissue disease

 Ankylosing spondylitis

 Sjögren syndrome

 Rheumatoid arthritis

 Scleroderma

 Marfan syndrome

 Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

Neoplasm

 Bronchogenic carcinoma

 Metastatic disease

 Sarcoma

Miscellaneous

 Catamenial pneumothorax

 Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome