This Often Occurs After an Injury
A pneumomediastinum is a condition of air entering the chest.
It often happens after an injury and causeschest pain.
This article will cover all the aspects of pneumomediastinum and discuss treatment options.
izusek / Getty Images
izusek / Getty Images
Pneumomediastinum: A Passing Air Bubble?
Simply put, it is an air bubble inside of the chest.
A pneumomediastinum is a rare occurrence.
It is predominantly seen in men, with 76% of pneumomediastinum cases being in men.
A pneumomediastinum can be sparked by a few different things.
They include:
It can also happen for seemingly no reason at all.
This is called a spontaneous pneumomediastinum.
When Is a Pneumomediastinum an Emergency?
If you or someone you are with has difficulty breathing or has chest pain, call 911.
It produces bumps under the skin and a crackling noise when the skin is touched.
Pneumomediastinum is diagnosed with achest X-ray.
Pneumomediastinum and COVID-19
Researchers have found that patients withCOVID-19who require mechanical ventilation develop a pneumomediastinum.
COVID-19 can cause lung injury, which requires the patient to need a breathing tube.
When the lung injury worsens, healthcare providers may need to increase the pressure from the ventilator.
This increase in the ventilator can cause a pneumomediastinum.
The condition typically does not require intensive medical treatment and has good outcomes for the patient.
Healthcare providers will work to relieve the underlying cause, like COPD orasthma, to prevent additional air bubbles.
This is a tube inserted into the chest that will allow the air to leave the chest.
Pneumomediastinum Watchful Waiting
A pneumomediastinum is rarely a life-threatening condition or anemergency.
This air outside of the lung pushes against it and causes it to collapse.
A small pneumothorax may go away without treatment.
But a more significant pneumothorax will need to be treated in a hospital.
The mainstay treatment is the placement of achest tubein the area around the lungs and oxygen therapy.
If you experience a pneumomediastinum, you will be asked to follow up with your healthcare provider after treatment.
If an underlying condition caused the pneumomediastinum, then the healthcare provider will provide guidance to prevent recurrence.
If there was no known cause, the provider may suggest lung function tests to identify an underlyinglung condition.
Summary
A pneumomediastinum is when air leaves the lungs or airways and gets trapped inside the chest.
It can happen spontaneously for no known reason or can occur after an injury or from a respiratory condition.
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