It Is Not a Boerhaave! A Case of Spontaneous Pneumothorax
Imran Khan1, Rukma R Govindu2,3, Hussam Ammar1
1Internal Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, USA.
Abstract:
Spontaneous pneumothorax is a pneumothorax that is not caused by trauma or an apparent precipitating factor. This report presents a case of a 91-year-old man with no history of lung disease who developed pneumothorax after two days of persistent nausea and vomiting. He was misdiagnosed as a case of Boerhaave's syndrome. A chest computed tomography with iohexol oral contrast showed no evidence of esophageal rupture, and an upper endoscopy revealed a small gastric ulcer and no gastric outlet obstruction. The patient was managed conservatively; his spontaneous pneumothorax, nausea, and vomiting resolved.
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