Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum: A Case Report of 27 Patients

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is defined as the presence of air in the mediastinum in the absence of traumatic or iatrogenic cause. Diagnosis is based on chest X-ray. Other paraclinical examinations, such as chest tomodensitometry or bronchial or gastrointestinal endoscopy, are sometimes necessary. Outcome is most often favorable. We report 27 cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum whose data were collected in the Department of Respiratory Diseases at the Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca between 2008 and 2023. The study involved 19 men and eight women, with an average age of 37 years. Clinical symptomatology was dominated by retrosternal chest pain. The circumstances of onset of pneumomediastinum were coughing spell in 11 cases, hookah consumption in two cases and iterative vomiting in three cases, childbirth and exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) of bacterial origin in five cases. Outcome was favorable in all cases with spontaneous resorption of the pneumomediastinum with only one death. No recurrence occurred after a minimum follow-up period of 3 years.