Open AccessSpontaneous pneumomediastinum (Hamman’s syndrome): presenting as acute severe asthma
Author(s) -
Waddah Mohamed,
Claire Exley,
Ian Michael Sutcliffe,
Akshay Dwarakanath
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of the royal college of physicians of edinburgh/the journal of the royal college of physicians of edinburgh
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.275
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 2042-8189
pISSN - 1478-2715
DOI - 10.4997/jrcpe.2019.106
Subject(s) - medicine , pneumomediastinum , auscultation , subcutaneous emphysema , asthma , mediastinal emphysema , pediatrics , intensive care medicine , surgery , radiology , pneumothorax
Spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) is an uncommon finding and clinicians must consider this during their clinical evaluation. High degree of suspicion and appropriate investigations play key roles in early diagnosis and avoiding potential life-threatening complications. SPM usually presents without any comorbidities (primary) or due to an underlying pathology (secondary), such as underlying asthma, barotrauma, valsalva manoeuvre or an oesophageal rupture. Patients can have varying clinical symptoms; the majority will have subcutaneous emphysema and Hamman's sign (mediastinal crunching sound on auscultation). The prognosis of SPM is usually good with resolution in most cases, and it has a low recurrence rate. We report a case of SPM in a young 19-year-old male who presented with symptoms of acute severe asthma and who made a complete resolution with conservative management.