Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum: A Rare Cause of Chest Pain

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare medical condition characterized by the presence of free air in the mediastinum, not preceded by trauma, surgery, or another medical procedure. It predominantly affects young adult males and usually has a benign course, and in most cases, it is not possible to identify the precipitating factor. There are some conditions that predispose to its occurrence, namely those that lead to an increase in intrapleural pressure, such as coughing, vomiting, or vigorous exercise. We report a case of a 21-year-old male who presented with acute-onset shortness of breath after an episode of coughing and was found to have mediastinal and subcutaneous emphysema. Clinical, laboratory, and radiological studies did not demonstrate any predisposing factor, and the case was classified as spontaneous pneumomediastinum.

Acute chest pain... Where?

“…In the research by Paolo Bima and colab 2023, we can note that: patients with neoplatisc pathology have a very high risck of myocardial infarction, when they come in emergency departement with acute chest pain [6,7]. Daniela Barroso and colab., report a rare case of spontaneous pneumomediastin witch began with acute chest pain associated with other symptoms [8]. In emergency department, doctor has the obligation to exclude life -threatening chest pain causes, take into account that sometimes patients may show minimal symptomatology, when they come in emergency; for example, a research performed by Flavio Morello and colab., they draw attention to acute aortic syndromes as rare conditions that may present with non-specific signs and symptoms.…”