Spontaneous air everywhere
Presentation
Acute onset chest pain and breathlessness with no trauma or past medical history.
Patient Data
Age: 25 years
Gender: Female
From the case:
Spontaneous air everywhere
CT
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Axial non-contrast
Extensive surgical emphysema and pneumomediastinum without pneumothorax. The cause for the air leak is not demonstrated.
Case Discussion
This young girl was admitted with acute severe chest pain caused by spontaneous pneumomediastinum and surgical emphysema. The cause isn't demonstrated on the CT and no clear cause was elicited from the history.
It is unusual to have this degree of pneumomediastinum and surgical emphysema without a pneumothorax. The leading cause of spontaneous air leak would be secondary to bleb rupture in an asthmatic.