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...

Pneumopericardium, an accumulation of air in the pericardial cavity, occurs very rarely as compared to pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum. Clinical presentation is variable, patients are frequently asymptomatic, and mild cases usually resolve spontaneously. However, it may lead to pericardial tamponade, which requires rapid diagnosis and treatment that can be lifesaving. The traditional diagnos...

Pneumopericardium is defined as the accumulation of air in the pericardial cavity (1). Many cases have since been reported, mostly due to blunt or penetrating chest injuries in adults. Spontaneous pneumopericardium is seen very rarely (2). The mortality rate for patients with pneumopericardium who present with symptoms of tamponade is 50% (3). We present the case of a 27-year-old 32-week-pregna...

Pneumopericardium indicates the free air in the pericardium. It can develop secondary to many different reasons and the most common cause in etiology is trauma. Other pathologies are usually accompanied in cases of pneumopericardium developed secondary to penetrating thoracic traumas, and isolated pneumopericardium is a very rare condition. In this article, a rare case of isolated pneumopericar...

A 13-month-old girl who had no medical history uneventfully underwent patch closure of an atrial septal defect under mild hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass. An immediately postoperative chest radiograph did not show any unusual findings (the Figure, A), and the process of weaning her from the ventilator was started. Just before extubation (6 hours after transfer to the intensive care unit), a ...

A 65-year-old female patient was brought to our emergency department (ED) with alleged history of road traffic collision (RTC). The patient had respiratory distress on arrival and hence she was immediately intubated and ventilated. Blood pressure and peripheral pulses were not measurable; however the central pulses were present. Aggressive fluid resuscitation was started. Primary assessment rev...

Spontaneous pneumopericardium occurred in a patient almost 4 weeks after bilateral lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis. The patient had no specific complaints and was in stable haemodynamic condition. We suggest that this pneumopericardium was related to a concomitant active cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. After treatment of the CMV infection, the pneumopericardium resolved spontaneously.

Three recent cases of pneumopericardium after closed-chest injury are described. The mechanism of pericardial inflation suspected in each was pleuropericardial laceration in the presence of an intrathoracic air leak. Deflation of the pericardium was achieved by underwater seal drainage of the right pleural cavity in the first patient, during thoracotomy for repair of tracheobronchial rupture in...

A 27-year-old woman sustained a blunt chest trauma after a car accident. Computed tomography revealed tension pneumopericardium, bilateral pneumothorax, and a suspected rupture of the left main bronchus. Emergent pericardial needle aspiration was successfully performed. Bronchial amputation was confirmed by bronchofiberoscopy. Despite total detachment of the distal part of the bronchial tree, t...