4. Traumatic pneumothorax

Traumatic pneumothorax develops when air from the atmosphere or lung parenchyma infiltrates the pleural space following blunt or penetrating trauma. The most commonly encountered etiologic cause is injury of the pleura or the lungs due to rib fractures. In cases of blunt thoracic trauma, the bulla or blebs that may already be present in the lungs may rupture, or tracheal bronchi injury may develop [22, 23]. Traumatic pneumothoraxes are classified into three groups as follows: simple, open and tension pneumothorax, which are detailed below.
