Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Analysis of spontaneous pneumothorax in the city of Cuneo: environmental correlations with meteorological and air pollutant variables

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Surgery Today Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and Purpose

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) tends to cluster. Previous studies have found a correlation between PSP and atmospheric pressure variations or thunderstorms. We conducted this study to analyze the PSP correlations with meteorological variables and the concentrations of air pollutants in the city of Cuneo in Italy (IT).

Methods

We evaluated prospectively 451 consecutive PSP patients treated between 2004 and 2010. For each day within the period analyzed, the meteorological parameters and pollutants data were recorded. Statistical analyses on PSP were done for distribution characteristics, spectral autocorrelation, and spectral analysis. Multivariate regression analyses were performed using artificial neural networks.

Results

Analysis of annual, seasonal, and monthly distributions showed no significant correlation between PSP and the time series. The spectral analysis showed that PSP events were not random. Correlations between meteorological and environmental variables confirmed that PSP was significantly more likely to occur on warm windy days with high atmospheric pressure and high mean nitrogen dioxide concentration.

Conclusions

Meteorological parameters and atmospheric pollutants might explain the cluster onset of PSP.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Noppen M. Spontaneous pneumothorax: epidemiology, pathophysiology and cause. Eur Respir Rev. 2010;19:217–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Sahn SA, Heffner JE. Spontaneous pneumothorax. N Engl J Med. 2000;342:868–74.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ozpolat B. Is the onset of spontaneous pneumothorax influenced by air pollution meteorological changes, or both? J Thorac Dis. 2012;2:1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Noppen M, Verbanck S, Harvey J, Van Herreweghe R, Meysman M, Vincken W, Paiva M. Music: a new cause of primary spontaneous pneumothorax. Thorax. 2004;59:722–4.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Smit HJ, Devillé WL, Schramel FM, Schreurs JM, Sutedja TG, Postmus PE. Atmospheric pressure changes and outdoor temperature changes in relation to spontaneous pneumothorax. Chest. 1999;116:676–81.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Suarez-Varel MM, Martinez-Selva MI, Llopis-Gonzalez A, Martinez-Jimeno JL, Plaza-Valia P. Spontaneous pneumothorax related with climatic characteristics in the Valencia area (Spain). Eur J Epidemiol. 2000;16:193–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Bulajich B, Subotich D, Mandarich D, Vojnovich Kljajich R, Gajich M. Influence of atmospheric pressure, outdoor temperature, and weather phases on the onset of spontaneous pneumothorax. Ann Epidemiol. 2005;15:185–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Alifano M, Forti Parri SN, Bonfanti B, Arab WA, Passini A, Boaron M, Roche N. Atmospheric pressure influences the risk of pneumothorax: beware of the Storm! Chest. 2007;131:1877–82.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Bertolaccini L, Alemanno L, Rocco G, Cassardo C. Air pollution, weather variations and primary spontaneous pneumothorax. J Thorac Dis. 2010;2:9–15.

    PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Bertolaccini L, Cassardo C, Viti A, Terzi A. The relationship between meteorological variations and the onset of spontaneous pneumothorax. Surg Today. 2013;43:345–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Pasini A, Pelino V, Potestà S. A neural network model for visibility nowcasting from surface observation: result and sensitivity to physical input variables. J Geophys Res. 2001;106:14951–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Pasini A, Lorè M, Ameli F. Neural network modelling for the analysis of forcings/temperatures relationships at different scales in the climate system. Ecol Model. 2006;191:58–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Pasini A, Langone R. Influence of Circulation patterns on temperature behavior at the regional scale: a case study investigated via neural network modeling. J Clim. 2012;25:2123–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Patel JL, Goyal RK. Applications of artificial neural networks in medical science. Curr Clin Pharmacol. 2007;2:217–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Gillespie-Bennett J, Pierse N, Wickens K, Crane J, Howden-Chapman P. Housing heating and health study research team. The respiratory health effects of nitrogen dioxide in children with asthma. Eur Respir J. 2011;38:303–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Zhang GJ, Gao R, Fu JK, Jin X, Zhang Y, Wang Z. Climatic conditions and the onset of primary spontaneous pneumothorax: an investigation of the influence of solar terms. Med Princ Pract. 2012;21:345–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Schieman C, Graham A, Gelfand G, McFadden SP, Tiruta C, Hill MD, Grondin SC. Weather and chinook winds in relation to spontaneous pneumothoraces. Can J Surg. 2009;52:E151–5.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

Luca Bertolaccini and his co-authors have no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thoracic Surgery Unit, Sacro Cuore Hospital, Via Don Angelo Sempreboni 5, 37024, Negrar Verona, Italy

    Luca Bertolaccini & Alberto Terzi

  2. Thoracic Surgery Unit, S. Croce e Carle Hospital, Cuneo, Italy

    Andrea Viti

  3. Department of Physics, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Lucia Boschetto & Claudio Cassardo

  4. Institute for Atmospheric Pollution Research, CNR, Rome, Italy

    Antonello Pasini & Alessandro Attanasio

Authors
  1. Luca Bertolaccini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrea Viti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lucia Boschetto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Antonello Pasini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Alessandro Attanasio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Alberto Terzi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Claudio Cassardo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luca Bertolaccini.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bertolaccini, L., Viti, A., Boschetto, L. et al. Analysis of spontaneous pneumothorax in the city of Cuneo: environmental correlations with meteorological and air pollutant variables. Surg Today 45, 625–629 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-014-1014-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-014-1014-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation