Spontaneous esophageal injury: esophageal intramural hematoma

Acute chest pain can indicate a life-threatening condition and it is important for physicians to diagnose and treat it as a matter of urgency. We report 1 rare case of esophageal intramural hematoma (IMH) that presented with chest pain at the emergency department and which was initially clinically suspected to be due to aortic dissection. The case was diagnosed preoperatively by multidetector computed tomography. Esophageal IMH may represent an intermediate stage between Mallory-Weiss tear (mucosal) and Boerhaave's syndrome (transmural). Multidetector computed tomography is a useful noninvasive imaging modality for accurate diagnosis of these spontaneous intramural and transmural ruptures of the esophagus, and aids in the differential diagnosis of aortic and other mediastinal diseases with acute chest pain.