One hundred cases of primary spontaneous pneumomediastinum: leukocytosis is common, pleural effusions and age over 40 are rare.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Primary spontaneous pneumomediastinum (PSPM) is a benign condition, but it can be difficult to discriminate from Boerhaave syndrome. The diagnostic difficulty is attributable to a shared constellation of history, signs, and symptoms combined with a poor understanding of the basic vital signs, labs, and diagnostic findings characterizing PSPM. These challenges likely contribute to high resource utilization for diagnosis and management of a benign process.

Methods

Patients aged 18 years or older with PSPM were identified from our radiology department's database. A retrospective chart review was performed.

Results

Exactly 100 patients with PSPM were identified between March 2001 and November 2019. Demographics and histories correlated well with prior studies:

SUBMITTER: Morgan CT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10089890 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature