title: Hemomediastinum due to spontaneous rupture of a mediastinal bronchial artery aneurysm - A rare cause of thoracic pain.
abstract: Hemomediastinum is a rare pathological event. Multiple underlying causes and contributory factors can be identified, such as trauma, malignancy, iatrogenic, bleeding disorder or mediastinal organ hemorrhage. Also, a mediastinal bronchial artery aneurysm may be the source of a hemomediastinum. Hemoptysis is an important directive symptom, however occasionally, patients only present with thoracic pain or symptoms related to extrinsic compression of the airways or esophagus. Using contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the chest, hemomediastinum can be adequately diagnosed, and the involved vascular structures can be revealed. In case of a (ruptured) bronchial artery aneurysm, transcatheter embolization provides a minimally invasive procedure and is treatment of first choice. In this case report, a 76-year-old female is presented with spontaneous rupture of a mediastinal bronchial artery aneurysm resulting in hemomediastinum causing thoracic pain. Superselective embolization of the left bronchial artery was successfully performed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: B A H
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Vosse
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: van Belle
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Orbis Medical Center, Sittard-Geleen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Das
keywords: Bronchial artery aneurysm; Hemomediastinum; Superselective transcatheter embolization; Thoracic pain