Diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous pneumomediastinum is not complicated
Hatice Eryiğit Ünaldı1,Kadir Burak Özer1,Murat Ersin Çardak2,Mehmet Ünaldı3,Attila Özdemir1,Recep Demirhan1
Current Thoracic Surgery
2017;2(2):050-053. (28 February 2017)
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Kartal Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Education and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey
2Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Education and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey
3Department of Emergency Medicine, Göztepe Education and Research Hospital, Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey
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Background: Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare and usually benign finding in young male
patient without a history. When subcutaneous emphysema occurs, the patient and medical physicians
feel uneasy about the view of face and neck. We review our clinical experience with spontaneous
pneumomediastinum in this study.
Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of demographic features, complaints,
precipitating factors and length of hospital stay of patients with spontaneous pneumomediastinum.
Results: Fourteen patients with spontaneous mediastinum were identified, included 10 males. Mean
age was 25.4 ± 8.9. Chest pain was the most common complaint. All patients underwent chest-x ray
and thoracic computed tomography. Only one esophagogram was done. The patients were discharged
uneventfully between 3 and 6 days (mean 3.5 ± 1.25). A 12-month follow-up revealed no recurrence of
pneumomediastinum in any of the patients.
Conclusions: Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a benign entity and generally treated with
conservative management. Chest-x ray and thoracic computed tomography are useful tools for diagnosis
of the pneumomediastinum. Additional investigation procedures should be performed selectively.
Keywords :
pneumomediastinum, spontaneous, subcutaneous emphysema
