[Spontaneous pneumomediastinum in adults]

Pneumomediastinum cases admitted to our Respiratory Intensive Care Unit during the past 15 years are reviewed. After excluding secondary and iatrogenic pneumomediastinum, spontaneous pneumomediastinum was diagnosed in seven patients being all of them males. The causative conditions were status asthmaticus in four patients, intense cough in two and Valsalva manoeuver in one patient. The most frequent symptoms were dyspnea, chest pain and odynophagia. Subcutaneous emphysema appeared in six patients and there was associated pneumothorax in two cases. ECG was normal in six patients. All cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum had a satisfactory evolution with conservative treatment resolving in four to eight days.