scholarly journals Cervicofacial Surgical Emphysema following Tonsillectomy

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Yelnoorkar ◽  
Wolfgang Issing

We report the case of a patient who developed cervicofacial subcutaneous emphysema following a routine tonsillectomy. An 18-year-old male with swallowing difficulties underwent a tonsillectomy and developed swelling of the right side of his neck and face 36 hours after surgery. A neck X-ray revealed subcutaneous emphysema. Unlike similar previously published cases, there were no postoperative issues of coughing, straining, or use of positive pressure ventilation. The complication also occurred after a considerable length of time. Further complications may include pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum and these should be excluded.

1992 ◽  
Vol 106 (8) ◽  
pp. 751-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan H. Ramadan ◽  
Nicolas Bu-Saba ◽  
Anis Baraka ◽  
Salman Mroueh

AbstractForeign body aspiration is a very common problem in children and toddlers and still a serious and sometimes fatal condition. We are reporting on a 2-year-old white asthmatic male who choked on a chick pea and presented with subcutaneous emphysema, and on chest X-ray with an isolated pneumomediastinum but not pneumothorax. On review of the literature an isolated pneumomediastinum without pneumothorax was rarely reported. This presented a challenge in management mainly because of the technique that we had to use in order to undergo bronchoscopy and removal of the foreign body. Apnoeic diffusion oxygenation was used initially while the foreign body was removed piecemeal, and afterwards intermittent positive pressure ventilation was used. The child did very well, and his subcutaneous emphysema and pneumomediastinum remarkably improved immediately post surgery.


2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (183) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Shrestha ◽  
S Acharya

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema are rare complications of labor, especially in the late pregnancy period, but they are usually self-limiting. Management includes avoidance of exacerbative factors and close observation with supportive treatment. A 19-year-old primi gravida at 36 weeks pregnancy presented with swelling over the right side of the face, neck and chest. Her general examination was normal. Systemic examination revealed swelling with palpatory crepitation over the right side of chest, neck and face, and other examination findings were normal. Chest X-ray revealed subcutaneous emphysema without pneumothorax. The patient left hospital against medical advice. Keywords: Pregnancy; subcutaneous emphysema; pneumomediastinum.


Author(s):  
Antoine Vieillard-Baron

Knowledge of heart–lung interactions is key to manage haemodynamics in mechanically ventilated patients (see also Chapter 5). It allows intensivists to understand the meaning of blood and pulse pressure respiratory variations (PPV). Unlike spontaneous breathing, positive pressure ventilation increases blood pressure and pulse pressure during inspiration following by a decrease during expiration. This is called reverse pulsus paradoxus and includes a ‘d-down’ and a ‘d-up’ effect. No variation means no effect of mechanical ventilation on the heart and especially on the right heart. In case of significant PPV, tidal volume usually reduces right ventricular stroke volume by way of reducing preload where systemic venous return is decreased (fluid expansion is useful to restore haemodynamics, when impaired) or increasing afterload (obstruction of pulmonary capillaries due to alveolar inflation and, in this case, fluid expansion is useless or even sometimes deleterious). Clinical examination as well as evaluation of respiratory variations of superior vena cava by echo, helps to distinguish between these two situations. By studying the beat-by-beat changes in echo parameters induced by positive pressure ventilation heartbeat by heartbeat, echocardiography is perfectly suited to study heart–lung interactions and then to propose an appropriate optimization in case of haemodynamic impairment.


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.


Case reports ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-69
Author(s):  
María Fernanda Ochoa-Ariza ◽  
Jorge Luis Trejos-Caballero ◽  
Cristian Mauricio Parra-Gelves ◽  
Marly Esperanza Camargo-Lozada ◽  
Marlon Adrián Laguado-Nieto

Introduction: Pneumomediastinum is defined as the presence of air in the mediastinal cavity. This is a rare disease caused by surgical procedures, trauma or spontaneous scape of air from the lungs; asthma is a frequently associated factor. It has extensive differential diagnoses due to its symptoms and clinical signs.Case presentation: A 17-year-old female patient presented with respiratory symptoms for 2 days, dyspnea, chest pain radiated to the neck and shoulders, right supraclavicular subcutaneous emphysema, wheezing in both lung fields, tachycardia and tachypnea. On admission, laboratory tests revealed leukocytosis and neutrophilia, and chest X-ray showed subcutaneous emphysema in the right supraclavicular region. Diagnosis of pneumomediastinum was confirmed through a CT scan of the chest. The patient was admitted for treatment with satisfactory evolution.Discussion: Pneumomediastinum occurs mainly in young patients with asthma, and is associated with its exacerbation. This condition can cause other complications such as pneumopericardium, as in this case. The course of the disease is usually benign and has a good prognosis.Conclusion: Because of its presentation, pneumomediastinum requires clinical suspicion to guide the diagnosis and treatment. In this context, imaging is fundamental.


1981 ◽  
Vol 240 (6) ◽  
pp. H821-H826 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Fewell ◽  
D. R. Abendschein ◽  
C. J. Carlson ◽  
E. Rapaport ◽  
J. F. Murray

To determine whether alterations in the mechanical properties (i.e., stiffening) of the right and left ventricles contribute to the decrease in right and left ventricular end-diastolic volumes during continuous positive-pressure ventilation (CPPV), we studied six dogs anesthetized with chloralose urethane and ventilated with a volume ventilator. We varied ventricular volumes by withdrawing or infusing blood. Pressure-volume curves, constructed by plotting transmural ventricular end-diastolic pressures against ventricular end-diastolic volumes, did not change during CPPV (12 cmH2O positive end-expiratory pressure) compared to intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (IPPV, 0 cmH2O end-expiratory pressure). We conclude that decreased ventricular end-diastolic volumes during CPPV result primarily from a decrease in venous return. Alterations in the mechanical properties of the ventricles do not play a significant role in this response.


1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 1314-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Novak ◽  
G. M. Matuschak ◽  
M. R. Pinsky

Regional lung ventilation is modulated by the spatiotemporal distribution of alveolar distending forces. During positive-pressure ventilation, regional transmission of airway pressure (Paw) to the pleural surface may vary with ventilatory frequency (f), thus changing interregional airflow distribution. Pendelluft phenomena may result owing to selective regional hyperventilation or phase differences in alveolar distension. To define the effects of f on regional alveolar distension during positive-pressure ventilation, we compared regional pleural pressure (Ppl) swings from expiration to inspiration (delta Ppl) and end-expiratory Ppl over the f range 0-150 min-1 in anesthetized, paralyzed, close-chested dogs with normal lungs. We inserted six pleural balloon catheters to analyze Ppl distribution along three orthogonal axes of the right hemithorax. Increases in regional Ppl were synchronously coupled with inspiratory increases in Paw regardless of f. However, at a constant tidal volume and percent inspiratory time, end-expiratory Paw and Ppl increased in all regions once a f threshold was reached (P less than 0.01). Supradiaphragmatic delta Ppl were less than in other regions (P less than 0.05), but thoracoabdominal binding abolished this difference by decreasing thoracoabdominal compliance. We conclude that the distribution of forces determining dynamic regional alveolar distension are temporally synchronous but spatially asymmetric during positive-pressure ventilation at f less than or equal to 150/min.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 2050313X2110100
Author(s):  
Duong T Hua ◽  
Farah Shah ◽  
Cherlyn Perez-Corral

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is defined as having an etiology that is not related to surgery, trauma, or mechanical ventilation. Precipitating causes of spontaneous pneumomediastinum include coughing, exercise, vomiting, infection, underlying lung diseases such as asthma, and illicit drugs. Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, and dysphagia. A 54-year-old man presented with 2 weeks of shortness of breath, cough, and fever. He was admitted for severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and acute hypoxic respiratory failure requiring non-rebreather mask. Chest imaging on admission showed bilateral peripheral consolidations and pneumomediastinum with subcutaneous emphysema. No precipitating event was identified. He did not require initiation of positive pressure ventilation throughout his admission. On hospital day 7, chest imaging showed resolution of pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema, and he was successfully discharged on oxygen therapy. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is typically benign and self-limiting, requiring only supportive treatment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Emad Alkhankan ◽  
Ahmad Nusair ◽  
Rida Mazagri ◽  
Mohammed Al-Ourani

Pleural pigtail catheter placement is associated with many complications including pneumothorax, hemorrhage, and chest pain. Air embolism is a known but rare complication of pleural pigtail catheter insertion and has a high risk of occurrence with positive pressure ventilation. In this case report, we present a 50-year-old male with bilateral pneumonia who developed a pneumothorax while on mechanical ventilation with continuous positive airway pressure mode. During the placement of the pleural pigtail catheter to correct the pneumothorax, the patient developed a sudden left sided body weakness and became unresponsive. An air embolism was identified in the right main cerebral artery, which was fatal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Sethi ◽  
A. S. Ahmed ◽  
S. Hanif ◽  
M. Aqeel ◽  
A. B. S. Zubairi

Abstract Since December 2019, the clinical symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its complications are evolving. As the number of COVID patients requiring positive pressure ventilation is increasing, so is the incidence of subcutaneous emphysema (SE). We report 10 patients of COVID-19, with SE and pneumomediastinum. The mean age of the patients was 59 ± 8 years (range, 23–75). Majority of them were men (80%), and common symptoms were dyspnoea (100%), fever (80%) and cough (80%). None of them had any underlying lung disorder. All patients had acute respiratory distress syndrome on admission, with a median PaO2/FiO2 ratio of 122.5. Eight out of ten patients had spontaneous pneumomediastinum on their initial chest x-ray in the emergency department. The median duration of assisted ventilation before the development of SE was 5.5 days (interquartile range, 5–10 days). The highest positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) was 10 cmH2O for patients recieving invasive mechanical ventilation, while 8 cmH2O was the average PEEP in patients who had developed subcutaneous emphysema on non-invasive ventilation. All patients received corticosteroids while six also received tocilizumab, and seven received convalescent plasma therapy, respectively. Seven patients died during their hospital stay. All patients either survivor or non-survivor had prolonged hospital stay with an average of 14 days (range 8−25 days). Our findings suggest that it is lung damage secondary to inflammatory response due to COVID-19 triggered by the use of positive pressure ventilation which resulted in this complication. We conclude that the development of spontaneous pneumomediastinum and SE whenever present, is associated with poor outcome in critically ill COVID-19 ARDS patients.


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