Pneumothorax in the Aboriginal

ABSTRACTA study and comparison of the frequency and radiological manifestations of pneumothorax in adult and neonatal Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal patients was undertaken at the Royal Darwin Hospital during the period from 1976 to 1985.In the adult, primary spontaneous pneumothorax was common in the non‐Aboriginal patients but there was only one example in an Aboriginal and this could have been due to recent trauma. Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax was significantly more common in the Aboriginal patients and four were the result of active pulmonary tuberculosis. Traumatic pneumothorax was usually caused by accidental injuries in the non‐Aboriginal patients, and by deliberate injuries in the Aboriginal patients.Spontaneous pneumothorax was rare in the neonatal Aboriginal patients.