Spontaneous pneumothorax in adult Nigerians.

A 6-year study was carried out in our hospital practice to determine the prevalence of spontaneous pneumothorax. Thirty patients with 32 episodes of pneumothorax were diagnosed. Tuberculosis was encountered in 9(30%) patients while no specific cause was found in 12(40%) patients. This study indicates that spontaneous pneumothorax is uncommon in the Nigerian, while the tuberculosis aetiology may be a pointer to the overall high prevalence of the disease in the community.