title: Pneumomediastinum, pneumorachis, subcutaneous emphysema: An unusual complication of leukemia in a child.
abstract: Pneumorrhachis (PR), or epidural emphysema, denotes the presence of air in the spinal epidural space. It can be associated with a variety of etiologies, including trauma; recent iatrogenic manipulations during surgical, anesthesiological and diagnostic interventions; malignancy and its associated therapy. It usually represents an asymptomatic epiphenomenon but also can be symptomatic by itself, as well as by its underlying pathology, and rarely can be fatal. The pathogenesis and etiology of PR are varied and can sometimes be a diagnostic challenge. As such, there are no standard guidelines for the management of symptomatic PR and its treatment is often individualized. Here, we present a case of a 14-year-old boy treated for leukemia who developed this complication and whether chemotherapy related or not, it proved to be fatal for him. To our knowledge, this is the first case in the literature of this complication with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
authors: Hakim Irfan Showkat, Aleem Jan, Arif Hussain Sarmast, Gull Mohammad Bhat, Basharat Mujtaba Jan, Yasir Bashir, Department of Internal Medicine, Sheri-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar Kashmir 190001, India.
authors: Hakim Irfan
authors: HI
authors: Showkat
authors: Aleem
authors: A
authors: Jan
authors: Arif Hussain
authors: AH
authors: Sarmast
authors: Gull Mohammad
authors: GM
authors: Bhat
authors: Basharat Mujtaba
authors: BM
authors: Jan
authors: Yasir
authors: Y
authors: Bashir
keywords: Chemotherapy; Leukemia; Pneumomediastinum; Pneumorachis; Subcutaneous emphysema