An Unusual Cause of Shortness of Breath: Hamman Syndrome

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Victoria Asfour ◽  
Rizwan Attia

A 41-year-old primiparous low-risk woman developed dyspnea and generalized head and neck swelling after a normal delivery of a healthy neonate. A chest x-ray demonstrated surgical emphysema in the neck and a suggestion of pneumomediastinum (arrows, Figure panel A).

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neeraja Kuruba ◽  
Thin Thin Hla

This is a case report of a spontaneous pneumomediastinum and surgical emphysema in a 32-year-old woman presenting a few hours after forceps vaginal delivery with symptoms of chest tightness, shortness of breath and swelling in the neck, which resolved with conservative management. It is a rare but potentially dangerous complication of labour, which can be accurately diagnosed with clinical features and chest X-ray. The treatment is conservative as it is usually self-limiting and recurrence in subsequent pregnancies is extremely rare.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-32
Author(s):  
Legate Philip ◽  
◽  
Neil Andrews ◽  

Acute mitral regurgitation (acute MR) is a rare cause of acute respiratory distress, which can present diagnostic challenges. We present the case of a 57 year old man who developed acute shortness of breath subsequently associated with fever, raised white cells and elevated CRP. Chest x-ray revealed unilateral shadowing and he was treated for pneumonia, despite the finding of severe mitral regurgitation on echo. Failure to respond to antibiotic treatment following 3 weeks on ITU led to the consideration of acute MR as the cause of his symptoms and he responded well to diuretics. He subsequently underwent mitral valve repair. The causes and clinical presentations of this condition are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. e226805
Author(s):  
Anoopkishore Chidambaram ◽  
Sirisha Donekal

Spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum in children without any predisposing factors is a rare entity. We present a case of an adolescent boy with spontaneous pneumomediastinum. He is a 14-year-old boy brought to the hospital with an odd feeling in the neck and chest. Initial chest X-ray revealed subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum. He was further evaluated with CT thorax and abdomen with contrast which revealed extensive pneumomediastinum with associated surgical emphysema in the chest wall and neck. Expert opinions from the cardiothoracic and respiratory teams were obtained. The child was discharged with safety netting and description of red flag signs. Repeat chest X-ray in 2 weeks showed complete resolution of the pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema. We will briefly discuss about the diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
R. Gurung ◽  
B. M. Shakya ◽  
H. Dutta

A 4-year-old child had closure of tracheocutaneous fistula under general anaesthesia. He developed extensive surgical emphysema over the face, chest, and upper abdomen immediately in the recovery room. We gave him oxygen supplementation, removed surgical stitch, and inserted a 4 mm tracheostomy tube to secure airway. Chest X-ray ruled out pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum. After a week, a tight bandage was applied which approximated the tissue and helped in the closure of stoma; no suture was applied. The patient was discharged home on the fourth postoperative day. The patient needs close observation in the postoperative period with likely complication in mind. Recognizing early signs and symptoms of respiratory distress with quick intervention is lifesaving during the complication of tracheocutaneous fistula surgery. In absence of pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum, extensive surgical emphysema occurring during primary closure of tracheocutaneous fistula can be treated without inserting any drainage tube.


Heart ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-110
Author(s):  
Takao Konishi ◽  
Hironori Murakami ◽  
Shinya Tanaka

Clinical introductionA 59-year-old woman visited an outpatient cardiology clinic due to shortness of breath on exertion. Physical examination showed no significant abnormality of vital signs. A III/VI systolic murmur was heard on the fourth intercostal space at the right sternal border. The majority of laboratory tests were normal. Chest X-ray showed a curved vessel shadow (figure 1A). Initial transthoracic echocardiography showed abnormal blood flow into the inferior vena cava (IVC) in the subxiphoid long axis view (figure 1B) and mild right heart dilatation (online supplementary figure 1). Transoesophageal echocardiography showed severe tricuspid regurgitation (online supplementary figure 2).Figure 1(A) Chest X-ray. (B) Colour Doppler image in the subxiphoid long axis view.Supplementary dataSupplementary dataQuestionWhat is the most likely underlying disease for the patient’s shortness of breath on exertion?Pulmonary arteriovenous fistula.Pulmonary arterial hypertension.Lung cancer.Partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection.Isolated tricuspid regurgitation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 122 (9) ◽  
pp. 961-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
S C L Leong ◽  
F Javed ◽  
S Elliot ◽  
S Mortimore

AbstractObjectives:To evaluate the benefits of chest computed tomography and X-ray as screening tools in patients with newly diagnosed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, to determine the incidence of lung metastases or synchronous pulmonary lesions, and to evaluate factors associated with positive radiological findings.Design:Five-year, retrospective survey of all newly diagnosed cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.Results:We included 102 patients (63 men and 39 women), with a mean age of 67 years (range 33–91 years). The incidence of pulmonary involvement was 17 per cent. The sensitivity and specificity of computed tomography were 100 and 89.8 per cent, respectively. For chest X-ray, the sensitivity was 35.7 per cent and the specificity 92.7 per cent. The accuracy of computed tomography was 91.5 per cent and that of chest X-ray 83.1 per cent. There was a clear correlation between higher nodal stage and larger tumour with the development of distant metastases. In patients with a positive chest computed tomography scan, 86 per cent had T3or T4tumours, in contrast to 38 per cent of those with a negative chest scan (p < 0.05). In addition, 71 per cent of patients with positive findings had N2or N3nodal disease, compared with 29 per cent of those with negative findings (p < 0.05).Conclusion:There is currently no consensus on the use of chest X-ray and computer tomography for screening newly diagnosed cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We recommend routine scanning of high-staged head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines should be reappraised.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 3449
Author(s):  
Muhammad S. Shafique ◽  
Fatima Rauf ◽  
Hamza W. Bhatti ◽  
Noman A. Chaudhary ◽  
Muhammad Hanif

Spontaneous pneumothorax during pregnancy is a rare but a serious condition. The typical symptoms of spontaneous pneumothorax include pleuritic chest pain and shortness of breath. Diagnosis is usually made on chest X-ray with abdominal shielding. Management differs according to severity and no specific guidelines are described for management of spontaneous pneumothorax in pregnancy. We report a case of a 27-year-old multigravida, with insignificant past medical history for any respiratory illness, presenting with recurrent, left sided spontaneous pneumothorax during a single pregnancy. It was managed by chest tube thoracostomy each time and patient was discharged with tube till the delivery of the fetus.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. e240700
Author(s):  
Ruth Elizabeth Evans ◽  
Sophie Herbert ◽  
William Owen ◽  
Deepak Rao

We present a case of a 38-year-old man with no medical comorbidities who presented to the hospital with haemoptysis and shortness of breath on a background of vaping home-manufactured cannabis oil. He developed e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) visible on chest X-ray requiring oxygen, and corticosteroid treatment before making a recovery. Research reports that the contents vitamin E acetate and tetrahydrocannabinol are frequently found in substances acquired from informal sources which increase the likelihood of EVALI developing. Further research into their synergistic effect is ongoing. Although safer than smoking, vaping is not risk free and EVALI should be considered in patients presenting with respiratory disease.


Author(s):  
Gurinder Kumar ◽  
Vasudev Omprakash Sharma ◽  
Khalid Mohamed Mansour Mohamedfaris ◽  
Rajendran Nair ◽  
Aman Preet Singh Sohal

Differentiated thyroid cancer is a rare disease in children and adolescents and manifests exclusively in the form of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). We present a rare case of PTC who presented initially with lung symptoms and miliary nodules on chest X-ray. This case emphasises the important differential of miliary mottling of the lungs.


CMAJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. E322-E329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Bouck ◽  
Graham Mecredy ◽  
Noah M. Ivers ◽  
Ciara Pendrith ◽  
Ben Fine ◽  
...  

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