The Adjunctive Role of Dynamic Systemic Inflammation-Based Biomarkers in Surgical Risk Stratification of First-Episode Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax.

Background/

Objectives

This study examined whether dynamic systemic inflammation- and nutrition-based scores measured at baseline (T0) and during follow-up (T1: days 7-10) are associated with treatment response and surgical requirement in first-episode primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP).

Methods

A total of 216 consecutive patients with first-episode PSP, treated between January 2020 and December 2024, were retrospectively analyzed. All patients initially underwent tube thoracostomy. During follow-up, 117 patients recovered with drainage therapy, whereas 99 required VATS because of a prolonged air leak. The CAR, SIII, SIRI, PIII, NLR, PLR, and PNI, measured at T0 and T1, were analyzed. Δ-values (T1-T0 differences) were evaluated, and diagnostic performance was assessed using ROC curve analysis.

Results

At T0, inflammation- and nutrition-based indices did not differ significantly between groups. In contrast, at T1, CAR, SIII, SIRI, PIII, NLR, and PLR values were significantly higher in the VATS group than in the drainage group (all p < 0.05). Over time, inflammatory indices increased markedly in the VATS group, whereas changes in the drainage group remained limited. PNI decreased significantly at T1 in both groups. ROC analysis demonstrated that CAR, SIII, and NLR showed moderate discriminative performance for identifying patients who required VATS (area under the curve ≈ 0.65).

Conclusions

Dynamic assessment of systemic inflammation-based biomarkers provides clinically relevant insight for surgical risk stratification in first-episode PSP. While baseline measurements alone are insufficient, follow-up values and temporal changes-particularly in CAR, SIII, and NLR-may reflect progression toward a surgical phenotype and could serve as adjunctive, non-directive decision-support indicators in PSP management.