Open AccessCocaine using patient who presents with dyspnoea
Author(s) -
Rodrigo Martín Jiménez,
I García Alcaide,
N. Pascual Martínez
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
revista española de sanidad penitenciaria
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2013-6463
pISSN - 1575-0620
DOI - 10.18176/resp.0007
Subject(s) - pneumomediastinum , medicine , thorax (insect anatomy) , chest pain , addiction , incidence (geometry) , anesthesia , intensive care medicine , radiology , surgery , psychiatry , pneumothorax , physics , optics , anatomy
We present the case of a 17-year-old male patient with a history of cocaine use who consulted for chest pain and dyspnoea. A pneumomediastinum is defined as the irruption of air in the mediastinal space, and is associated with different causes, including addiction to inhaled drugs. It occurs in people with predisposing factors and the presence of precipitating factors such as consumption of inhaled drugs. X-ray and computed tomography of the thorax are very useful tools in guiding the diagnosis. The low incidence of this pathology represents a difficult diagnosis for the doctor, although in some characteristic work environments a high level of suspicion is necessary.