title: Nontraumatic suppurative mediastinitis presenting as acute mediastinal widening.
abstract: A case of acute nontraumatic suppurative mediastinitis in a 56-year-old man is presented. The patient was admitted with signs and symptoms of a left lower lobe pneumonia and acutely developed mediastinal widening on chest radiograph. A mediastinal abscess was drained by posterior mediastinotomy after a complicated hospital course. Mediastinitis is a rare complication of pneumonia. It is a serious condition, requiring prompt diagnosis and aggressive therapy, and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute mediastinal widening.
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008480:Mediastinitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000150:complications; D011859:Radiography
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents