Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum on Bedside Ultrasound: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare disease process with no clear etiology, although it is thought to be related to changes in intrathoracic pressure causing chest pain and dyspnea. We present a case of a 17-year-old male with acute chest pain evaluated initially by bedside ultrasound, which sho...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Zachariah, Sybil, Gharahbaghian, Laleh, Perera, Phillips, Joshi, Nikita
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine 2015
Materias:
Diagnostic Acumen
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380390/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25834681
http://dx.doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2015.1.24514
Descripción
Sumario:Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare disease process with no clear etiology, although it is thought to be related to changes in intrathoracic pressure causing chest pain and dyspnea. We present a case of a 17-year-old male with acute chest pain evaluated initially by bedside ultrasound, which showed normal lung sliding but poor visualization of the parasternal and apical cardiac views due to significant air artifact, representing air in the thoracic cavity. The diagnosis was later verified by chest radiograph. We present a case report on ultrasound-diagnosed pneumomediastinum, and we review the diagnostic modalities to date.

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