Spontaneous mediastinal emphysema: hamman's syndrome.
A case of spontaneous mediastinal emphysema (Hamman's syndrome) is described. The patient was a 21-year-old man, who had a sudden onset of substernal chest pain at rest associated with typical findings of Hamman's syndrome: subcutaneous emphysema of the neck, a precordial crunching sound synchronous with the heart beat and air in the mediastinum on chest x-ray. He recovered uneventfully. The pathogenesis and clinical picture of this rare condition are discussed.
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008478:Mediastinal Emphysema; D008480:Mediastinitis / Q000517:prevention & control; D010406:Penicillins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013307:Streptomycin / Q000627:therapeutic use
D010406:Penicillins; D013307:Streptomycin