Neonatal pneumopericardium (PPC) is a rare form of neonatal air leak syndrome with high morbidity and mortality. Air leak syndrome in the newborn is usually associated with active resuscitation, respiratory distress syndrome, meconium aspiration syndrome, mechanical ventilation, or trauma associated with labour. Neonatal PPC can be associated with other air leak syndromes such as pneumomediasti...

A 51-year-old manwith a history of rectal adenocarcinoma presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain, distension, and obstipation for 2 days. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen showed malignant colonic obstruction (●" Fig.1a,b). The patient underwent flexible sigmoidoscopywith successful deployment of a self-expanding metal stent (SEMS) for emergency decompression (●" Fi...

A policy of obtaining a routine chest radiograph in every young patient with unexplained chest pain or dyspnoea led to the diagnosis of 14 cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum within four years, whereas only two cases from former years could be found retrospectively. One patient had recurrent spontaneous pneumomediastinum, the first case so far reported. Analysis of admission data suggested t...

A 2 year old girl undergoing investigation for recurrent respiratory infections and failure to thrive presented acutely with neck and face swelling, tongue protrusion, and extreme difficulty in breathing. Examination showed extensive surgical emphysema over her chest, neck and face confirmed on the chest radiograph, which also revealed a pneumomediastinum (fig 1). While being prepared for emerg...

BACKGROUND Despite an increased use of non-invasive ventilatory strategies and gentle ventilation, pneumothorax remains a common complication in preterm infants. The ventilator management of infants with air leaks remains challenging in terms of both prevention and treatment. Recently the safety and efficacy of expectant management avoiding chest tube drainage to treat large air leak in preterm...

A 41-year-old primiparous low-risk woman developed dyspnea and generalized head and neck swelling after a normal delivery of a healthy neonate. A chest x-ray demonstrated surgical emphysema in the neck and a suggestion of pneumomediastinum (arrows, Figure panel A). A computed tomography examination with oral contrast demonstrated surgical emphysema and air in the anterior, middle, and posterior...

Although pneumomediastinum (PM) is a cause of chest pain, which can be diagnosed on a plain chest radiograph, emergency physicians frequently miss the diagnosis. As follows a description of findings of PM on a chest radiograph.

We read with much interest the article by S.J. Willing ( 1) that appeared in AJNR in 1991. The author states that epidural pneumatosis is commonly seen in trauma patients and that since computed tomography (CT) scans are seldom performed in spontaneous pneumomediastinum, a similar case has not been reported in the literature. Yoshimura, et al demonstrated the occurrence of epidural pneumatosis ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the need for routine chest radiography following percutaneous dilational tracheotomy (PDT). DESIGN Retrospective chart review. SETTING Tertiary care academic medical center. PATIENTS The records of 119 patients undergoing PDT between 1993 and 2000 for indications of prolonged intubation or need for pulmonary toilet. All patients received a portable chest radiograph ...

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is defined as free air or gas contained within the mediastinum, which almost invariably originates from the alveolar space or the conducting airways. It is rare in pediatric patients; however, occasional cases are reported to result from forced Valsalva's maneuver due to cough, emesis, a first attack of wheeze, or asthma exacerbations. We report the case of a 7-yea...