title: The heart in an airbag:  spontaneous pneumopericardium in a young lady.
abstract: Pneumopericardium is a rare but potentially life-threatening clinical condition that must be considered in the differential diagnosis of chest pain. It is usually associated with chest trauma, infections, invasive procedures or mechanical ventilation. We report a case of pneumopericardium in a 25-year-old woman following a recent episode of forceful vomiting possibly acting as trigger factor. The diagnosis was made by posteroanterior chest radiography and confirmed with computed tomography. Contrast swallow test failed to detect oesophagopericardial fistulae and the patient was managed conservatively without further complication.
authors: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Turin, Turin, Italy. castagno.davide@gmail.com
authors: Davide
authors: D
authors: Castagno
authors: Jonathan R
authors: JR
authors: Dalzell
authors: Colette E
authors: CE
authors: Jackson
authors: Ulf
authors: U
authors: Neisius
authors: Alistair
authors: A
authors: Cormack
authors: Fiorenzo
authors: F
authors: Gaita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011026:Pneumopericardium / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014839:Vomiting / Q000150:complications*