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Silent Breathlessness: A Case and Brief Review of Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is an uncommon diagnosis defined as the presence of free air in the mediastinum without an apparent cause. It is a self-limiting disorder that most often occurs in young males without any apparent precipitating factor or underlying disease process. Its pathophysiology i...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Chan, Vincent, Raza, Ahmad, Lashari, Bilal H, Patel, Rajesh
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cureus 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6581412/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31259105
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.4487
Descripción
Sumario:Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is an uncommon diagnosis defined as the presence of free air in the mediastinum without an apparent cause. It is a self-limiting disorder that most often occurs in young males without any apparent precipitating factor or underlying disease process. Its pathophysiology involves the rupture of alveoli with resultant air penetration into the mediastinum. Underlying disease processes, such as asthma, physical trauma, including yelling, contact sports, and Valsalva during labor, have also been reported to cause spontaneous pneumomediastinum. Here, we present the case of an 18-year-old male who presented to us with the chief complaint of cough and the subsequent diagnosis of spontaneous pneumomediastinum.