Cervical emphysema and pneumomediastinum are rare conditions, especially outside the setting of blunt trauma. Here we describe a case of a 31-year-old male with a history of cocaine use presenting with cough, odynophagia, neck pain, and neck swelling after forcefully blowing his nose to relieve cocaine-associated congestion and obstruction. Physical exam demonstrates crepitus along the neck and...

Pneumomediastinum is usually first identified radiographically in the emergency department. Distinguishing benign from more ominous causes, such as esophageal rupture, is imperative, particularly in the setting of associated esophageal disease. We describe a case, with correlative imaging, of spontaneous pneumomediastinum as the initial presentation of achalasia. A general discussion of spontan...

A 17-year-old white female presented to the emergency department with chest pain 12 h after ingesting four pills of phentermine (Adipex®). She complained of retrosternal chest pain radiating into her neck with inspiration. Medical history was unremarkable, and she denied any other medications or illicit drug use. Vital signs were normal with 100% pulse oximetry. Physical examination revealed no...

Pneumomediastinum, the presence of free air in the mediastinum, is described as spontaneous pneumomediastinum when there is no apparent cause such as trauma, surgery, interventional procedures, or intrathoracic infections. Pneumorrhachis is a rare clinical condition, consisting of intraspinal air. The main causes are iatrogenic, traumatic, and nontraumatic. Spontaneous mediastinum is usually as...

Pulmonary sequestration (PS) and pneumomediastinum are two rare clinical diseases. Pneumomediastinum was generally observed in infants either with diseased lungs or who were performed assisted ventilation or resuscitation following birth. It was reported in patients with existing ectopic thoracic kidney and laryngeal cysts however, no coexisting congenital lung anomalies were reported. Here, we...

BACKGROUND As new approaches to herniorrhaphy are popularized, new complications are being encountered. Pneumomediastinum is one such complication. METHODS We present a patient who developed pneumomediastinum after an elective bilateral preperitoneal laparoscopic hernia repair. RESULTS The patient was observed and discharged 24 hours later with no permanent sequelae. CONCLUSION Pneumomedi...

Pneumomediastinum is often an incidental finding following a blunt or penetrating trauma to the neck or chest. We report a rare case of pneumomediastinum following an isolated facial trauma that was diagnosed on imaging. We also review the clinical signs of this condition, its radiologic characteristics, and the 18 previously reported cases of pneumomediastinum following facial trauma.

Air-leak syndromes include pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, pneumopericardium, pneumoperitoneum, pulmonary interstitial emphysema and subcutaneous emphysema. Pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum occur in 1 to 2% of normal neonates and they usually has no symptoms and resolves spontaneously. Here we report sudden fatal pneumomediastinum accompanied with pneumopericardium and pneumoperitoneum in no...

A 28-year-old man with a history of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) developed sudden-onset chest pain and dyspnea 9 days after esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy. A chest radiograph demonstrated pneumomediastinum tracking along the left heart border. The spontaneous pneumomediastinum was presumed to be a complication of his severe colitis. The severity of our patient's symptoms ultimat...

Spontaneous medialstinal emphysema (pneumomediastinum) and pneumopericardium may be defined as the presence of free air or gas in the mediastinal structures and in the pericardial sac without an apparent precipitating cause. It most frequently occurs in young healthy adults without serious underlying pulmonary disease. Although pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium is often asymptomatic, it m...