title: Acute mediastinitis in children: a nine-year experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acute mediastinitis is a serious medical condition with a mortality rate of 30 to 40% or even higher. Early diagnosis with prompt and aggressive treatment is essential to prevent its rapid progression. We evaluated acute mediastinitis cases and analyzed the outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients diagnosed with acute mediastinitis who were admitted to Mofid Children's Hospital from January 2001 to January 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen patients aged 1 to 10 yrs. (mean =3.8 yrs) were evaluated including 12 (70%) boys and 5 (30%) girls. The most common symptoms were fever, dyspnea, cyanosis, tachycardia and tachypnea. The etiology of mediastinitis was iatrogenic esophageal perforation (EP), and related to manipulation in 13(77%), and leakage of esophageal anastomosis in 4 cases (33%). The underlying diseases were esophageal atresia in 2(12%), corrosive injury of the esophagus in 13(76%), congenital esophageal stenosis in one (6%), and gastroesophageal reflux esophagitis also in one (6%) patient. Patients with clinical symptoms were evaluated by immediate chest radiography, and gastrografin swallow. After early diagnosis, the patients received wide spectrum antibiotics and immediate mediastinal or thoracic drainage, followed by esophagostomy and gastrostomy. Only one case of endoscopic perforation was managed by NG tube. Fifteen patients (88%) survived successfully. We had 2(12%) cases of mortality in our study (one patient after esophageal substitution, mediastinal abscess and septicemia, and the other one developed esophageal perforation 6 months after early management and died of cardiac arrest during endoscopic dilation).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevention of acute mediastinitis is still a difficult challenge. As the prognosis is not good and patients have high mortality, rapid management is mandatory.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Mofid Children's Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran-IRAN.
authors.forename: Ahmad Khaleghnejad
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Tabari
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Mofid Children's Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran-IRAN.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mirshemirani
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Mofid Children's Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran-IRAN.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rouzrokh
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Mofid Children's Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran-IRAN.
authors.forename: Laili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mohajerzadeh
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Mofid Children's Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran-IRAN.
authors.forename: Nasibeh Khaleghnejad
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Tabari
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Research Center, Mofid Children's Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran-IRAN.
authors.forename: Parand
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghaffari
keywords: Acute mediastinitis; Children; Esophageal perforation; Survival; Treatment